Trading activity on the New York Stock Exchange has shown a slight uptick as futures rose late Tuesday, fueled by anticipation surrounding the delayed release of the January jobs report. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures both increased by 0.2%, while futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 85 points, also nearing a 0.2% rise.
Investors are keeping a close watch on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is set to release the January nonfarm payrolls report in the morning. This report, originally postponed due to a partial government shutdown that ended on February 3, is expected to reveal modest job growth. Current forecasts suggest the Dow Jones consensus is predicting an increase of 55,000 jobs for January, a slight uptick from December’s gain of 50,000. Economists also anticipate that the unemployment rate will settle at 4.4%. Traders are particularly interested in potential revisions from the BLS that may provide insight into the overall state of the U.S. labor market and economy.
According to Krishna Guha, head of economics and central bank strategy at Evercore ISI, the labor data remains challenging to interpret. He indicated that the relationship between growth and employment appears less consistent at the moment, attributing some of the uncertainty to broader economic factors, as well as potential long-term impacts of artificial intelligence on employment.
The sentiment in the market turned cautious following disappointing consumer data released earlier in the day. A report indicated that consumer spending for December was stagnant, failing to meet economists’ expectations of a 0.4% increase. In regular trading, the S&P 500 dipped 0.3%, overshadowed by concerns regarding the implications of AI in the financial sector, particularly after the tech platform Altruist introduced a new AI-driven tax planning tool, which led to declines in several financial services firm stocks. The Nasdaq Composite saw a decline of about 0.6%. Conversely, the Dow managed to post a slight gain of 0.1%, achieving yet another all-time high in the process.
In addition to the January jobs report, traders are preparing for further economic indicators expected to shape market sentiment this week, including the consumer price index, a vital measure of inflation, scheduled for release on Friday.
