U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Wednesday, as investors were cautious ahead of initial revisions to U.S. jobs data and the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.
At 06:20 ET (10:20 GMT), Apple Business Insider stock was up 32 points, or 0.1%, gaining 3 points, or 0.1%, and up 5 points, or 0.1%.
Wall Street indexes closed slightly lower on Tuesday, ending an eight-day winning streak as they recovered from weakness and volatility in early August.
Payroll Review, Fed Minutes in Spotlight
Markets are trading cautiously as investors look for clues about the Federal Reserve’s intentions at its next monetary policy meeting in September.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is due to release a report on possible revisions to recent nonfarm payrolls data later in the session, and most economists expect a downward revision.
Goldman Sachs expects between 600,000 and 1 million fewer jobs to be created between April 2023 and March 2024 than previously reported, although the influential investment bank said that A downward adjustment is likely to result in “overvaluation.” “The degree to which salary growth has been overestimated.”
“A stronger number would not change much about the Fed’s easing path, with the latest jobs data already pointing to a slowing labor market,” ING strategists wrote in a morning note.
Data from the Federal Reserve’s July monetary policy meeting is also due later today, ahead of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the economic symposium on Friday.
While investors expect Powell to offer more dovish signals, especially amid recent signs of some slowdown in inflation, he is not expected to explicitly outline plans to cut interest rates in September.
But the Fed is widely expected to cut rates next month, with markets pricing in a 67% chance of a 25 basis point cut and a 33% chance of a 50 basis point cut, according to Reuters.
Walmart plans to sell stake in JD
The quarterly earnings season is coming to a close, but results from a number of prominent retailers are still awaited.
goal TJX Corporation (NYSE:) and TJX Companies (NYSE:) are scheduled to report their quarterly results on Wednesday, and investors will be looking to see if they can capture market share in back-to-school sales.
Elsewhere, shares of Chinese e-commerce company JD.com (NASDAQ:) fell sharply before the start of trading after Bloomberg reported that Walmart (NYSE:) plans to sell its stake in the company for about $3.7 billion.
Keysite Technologies Shares of 3D Systems Inc. (NYSE:) rose after its earnings beat estimates, while shares of 3D Systems Inc. (NYSE:) fell after it reported weaker-than-expected earnings.
Furniture maker La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:) shares fell on weaker-than-expected guidance that largely offset strong earnings.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)