By Barbara Kollmeyer and Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures turned up
Wednesday, shrugging off the weaker-than-expected ADP employment
report. More economic signals will come later in the Institute for
Supply Management's nonmanufacturing survey.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJH4) edged up 5
points, at 15,343, while futures for the S&P 500 index (SPH4)
is mostly flat at 1,743.10. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 (NDH4)
inched up less than a point to 3,452.
Private-sector-employment gains slowed down in January, as
employers added 175,000 jobs, while the December number was revised
down to 227,000, according to the Automatic Data Processing Inc.
report released on Wednesday. Economists had forecast a gain of
189,000 jobs, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey.
At 10 a.m. Eastern Time, investors will get to gauge the health
of the nonmanufacturing sector from ISM. Earlier in the week,
markets got a shock when the ISM manufacturing survey showed a
sharp slowdown among customers in January, triggering a big selloff
for Wall Street. Spotlight on economy: ADP jobs report in
crosshairs
"Given the run of misses we've seen in U.S. economic data of
late, another shortfall here could serve to rattle traders," said
Joao Monteiro, analyst at Monex Capital Markets, in a note. "While
this latest correction may be close to having run its course,
anything that suggests the U.S. economy is going to struggle as the
QE tapering continues will give investors another reason to look
for the exit."
A couple of Federal Reserve speakers are also on tap, with
Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser due to speak on the
economy at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time in Rochester, N.Y. Atlanta Fed
President Dennis Lockhart is scheduled to speak on the economic
outlook at 1:40 p.m. Eastern Time in Birmingham, Ala.
Investors are eager to see which way markets will open after
Wall Street closed Tuesday with modest gains, reclaiming a fraction
of the worst losses since June seen on Monday. A
smaller-than-expected factory drop for December helped the S&P
500 index (SPX) close 0.8% higher to 1,755.20. Greenhaus: S&P
pullback is 'normal' so far, but 10% would be extreme
European stocks were set to break a three-day losing streak,
albeit with modest gains, while stocks stabilized in Asia. Data
showed a sharp drop in retail sales for the euro zone in December,
and also a sharp revision in November. Gold and oil prices moved
higher, while the dollar fell.
Humana Inc. (HUM) said it swung to a fourth-quarter loss of 19
cents, but stuck to its 2014 earnings guidance.
Merck & Co. Inc.(MRK) posted a drop in fourth-quarter profit
and revenue. Shares rose in premarket.
Tableau Software Inc. (DATA) and Myriad Genetics Inc. (MYGN) saw
a 13% and 14% respective gains in premarket after upbeat results
late Tuesday.
Twitter Inc. (TWTR) and Walt Disney Co. (DIS) will release
results after the market close.
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