By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch Markets expected to take a
breather from commodity watching
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly
weaker start for Wall Street on Wednesday, ahead of ADP payrolls
and other data, which could take some focus off commodity
prices.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) fell 2
points to 17,860, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) fell
1 point to 2,065.50. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDZ4) edged
up less than 1 point at 4,306.
A follow-up to Tuesday's big rally may not be on the cards,
though. The S&P 500 (SPX) and Dow industrials (DJI) scored
their best one-day percentage gain in roughly a month, lifted by a
rebound in energy stocks. Crude-oil prices were again moving
higher, along with gold, but analysts said investors are likely to
refocus back on the U.S. economic picture.
A peek into payrolls: ADP employment data for November is due at
8:15 a.m. Eastern. Private-sector job gains have surpassed the
200,000 level in six of the past seven months. Analysts will be
watching the data closely, as it is used to get a feel for the
larger government employment report due Friday. See preview
"Forecasts are predicting that this number could be lower than
last month's, so the Dow may have trouble this afternoon," said
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at SpreadEx. The correlation
between those two numbers isn't foolproof, though.
The latest data on productivity will be released at 8:30 a.m.
Eastern, while the ISM nonmanufacturing survey for November is due
at 10 a.m. Eastern. After that, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book is
due at 2 p.m. Eastern. The report is a collection of anecdotes from
Fed contacts around the country and gives the central bank a feel
for overall economic conditions ahead of its next meeting,
scheduled for December 16-17.
The European Central Bank also meets this week, on Thursday. The
pressure is expected to be on ECB President Mario Draghi and
officials to "provide when and how eurozone stimulus will appear
tomorrow", given recent disappointing eurozone PMI figures, added
Campbell. The composite PMI fell to a 16-month low in November,
weaker than the initial estimate.
Stocks for Wednesday: Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co.(ANF)
dropped 6% following a lower-than-expected full-year earnings
forecast from the clothing retailer. Adjusted third-quarter
earnings of 42 cents a share came in a penny a share below Wall
Street's projection.
Apparel retailers Guess Inc.(GES) and Aéropostale Inc.(ARO) are
expected to report after the close.
Puma Biotechnology Inc.(PBYI) fell sharply in late trade after
the pharmaceutical company delayed its breast-cancer drug
application to early 2016. See Stocks to Watch
Other markets: European stocks posted moderate gains across the
board despite downbeat eurozone PMI data. The FTSE 100 index was
down slightly ahead of Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's
Autumn Statement on the government's economic plans.
The dollar was mostly flat against the yen (USDJPY) after
setting a fresh 7-year high late Tuesday. However, the euro
(EURUSD) was at $1.2330, the lowest since August 2012.
January crude (CLF5) was up about 50 cents. American Petroleum
Institute data late Tuesday showed a steep fall in U.S. crude
inventories. and gold prices (GCG5) were trading higher, just over
$1,203 an ounce. T. Boone Pickens predicts $100 a barrel is coming
back
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