By Saumya Vaishampayan
U.S. stock futures fell Wednesday ahead of data on the labor
market and the manufacturing sector.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 25 points, or 0.2%, to
16940. S&P 500 futures shed four points, or 0.2%, to 1962 and
Nasdaq-100 futures declined 11 points, or 0.3%, to 4034. Changes in
stock futures don't always accurately predict stock moves after the
opening bell.
At 8:15 a.m. EDT, a monthly reading on private-sector employment
will be released. The report from Automatic Data Processing Inc.
and Moody's Analytics is expected to show an increase of 209,000
jobs in September, according to a survey of economists by The Wall
Street Journal.
Later in the morning, readings on the U.S. manufacturing sector
in September and construction spending in August are due.
Stocks fell Tuesday, with the Dow falling 0.2% to 17042.90. The
S&P 500 declined 0.3% to 1972.29 and the Nasdaq lost 0.3% to
4493.39. But major benchmarks posted quarterly gains, the seventh
in a row for the S&P and the Nasdaq.
The focus on employment data has intensified as the Federal
Reserve prepares to end its bond-buying program and eventually
raise short-term interest rates, which have been near zero since
December 2008. Fed officials have maintained that there is
"significant underutilization of labor resources" in the economy,
giving it some room to keep interest rates low. On Friday, the
Labor Department's monthly jobs report is expected to show an
increase of 215,000 jobs in September.
"Until we get the employment data out of the way on Friday, the
market is probably going to stay within [a] range," said Peter
Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital. He
said he expects stocks to extend gains through the end of the year
because of an improvement in third-quarter earnings.
The negative tone in stock futures was sparked by weak data
overseas, said Mr. Cardillo.
Eurozone data showed a surprise decline in manufacturing
activity in Germany, the region's largest economy, for the first
time in 15 months. The report is the latest to indicate that the
eurozone recovery is slowing, which could spur further stimulus
actions by the European Central Bank. The ECB is scheduled to make
a monetary-policy announcement Thursday.
The manufacturing data weighed on the euro, which fell to
$1.2595 from $1.2632 late Tuesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell
0.3%.
Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China were closed for a
holiday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.479% from
2.509% on Tuesday. Treasury yields move inversely with prices.
In corporate news, General Mills Inc. said Tuesday it would cut
700 to 800 salaried jobs as the food company battles weaker sales.
Shares were unchanged in premarket trade.
In commodity markets, crude-oil futures rose 0.6% to $91.74 a
barrel and gold futures declined 0.1% to $1,209.90 an ounce.
Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com