Stock Market Watch

Futures Rise Ahead of ADP Jobs Report

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Stock index futures are gaining in trading today following Tuesday’s sell-off as investors await the release of February ADP jobs report. Investors are hoping that the jobs data will indicate further improvement in the U.S. labor market.

Ahead of the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are trading 52 points higher at 12,796, the S&P 500 futures are trading 5.7 points higher at 1,347, and the Nasdaq 100 futures are trading 12.2 points higher at 2,601.


All three major indexes had fallen sharply on Tuesday amid rising worries about global economic growth. Earlier this week, China cut its annual growth target for the first time in eight years. Meanwhile, economic data from the euro zone suggests that the region is slipping into a deep recession.

Amid all the worries, the U.S. economic data, however, has shown signs of improvement in the economy. Investors are hoping that this trend will continue when the ADP releases its jobs report for February. Economists expect ADP to report a gain of 200,000 jobs in February. The report comes ahead of the all important nonfarm payrolls, which will be released on Friday.

Investors are also focusing on the bond swap deal between Greece and private creditors. Concerns about the Greece not able to complete a deal by Thursday’s deadline have eased after the country’s six largest banks agreed to take part in the debt swap.

European markets have edged higher in trading after Tuesday’s sharp decline. At last check, the FTSE 100 Index in London was trading 0.3% higher, while the DAX Index in Frankfurt was trading 0.29% higher. Asian markets, meanwhile, ended mostly lower, with the Nikkei 225 Index in Japan closing 0.64% lower.

Among the stocks expected to remain in focus in trading today include Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P).

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.


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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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