Investors are digesting the release of the ADP report for private sector job numbers. Stock futures gave up their early gains after the Markit purchasing index fell more than expected. This was due to fears that the EU recession would deepen in the second quarter. Dow futures are currently down 31 points. Nasdaq and S&P futures are also modestly negative, down 7 and nearly 4 points.
The ADP report showed that the private sector added 119k jobs last month. This is down from 200k level the month previous. If you extrapolate it out and compare the NFP with ADP we may be heading for a disappointment come Friday.
Europe continues to provide the headwinds for the global economy. The EU statistics agency, Eurostat, released unemployment numbers for the EU as whole. It showed unemployment jumping to 10.9%, the highest since the inception of the Euro. AS of now, most major EU markets are trading flat to slightly negative.
Domestically the main-event is still to come economic data wise. All eyes will be on Friday’s NFP report. Consensus expectations is for a print of 163k jobs created, up from 120k. Don’t be surprised if you start seeing major investment firms slash their estimates either today or tomorrow to account for weakness in the weekly jobless claims numbers.
Commodities are following the broader market lower this morning. Oil futures are off slightly, with Nymex crude futures down 35 cents to $105.81. Gold prices are also down slightly, off $9.50 per ounce to $1,652.90.
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