(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Tuesday in a data-packed week, with job openings figures due later in the day that will provide further clues on the state of the economy.
Multiple sets of economic data are scheduled to be released this week, including the personal consumption expenditures price index and non-farm payrolls.
The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), due at 10 a.m. ET, is expected to show the number of job openings fell to 9.46 million from 9.58 million in July, signaling easing labor market pressures.
Lack of hawkish surprises in Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at the Jackson Hole symposium last week had cushioned stocks on Monday.
“Given the tight labor market, any signs of workers coming off the sidelines and re-entering the labor market would be welcomed and could help ease wage pressures,” said Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.
Traders’ bets of a pause in interest rate hikes in September stood at nearly 79%, while bets of at least a 25-basis point hike in November was nearly 50%, up from around 40% a week earlier, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Investors will also keep a close eye on the Conference Board’s consumer confidence report, due at 10 a.m. ET.
At 5:43 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 16 points, or 0.05%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.50 points, or 0.03%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 1.75 points, or 0.01%.
Shares of Salesforce slipped 1.2% before the bell after J.P.Morgan removed the business software maker from its U.S. analyst focus list.
Verizon and AT&T rose about 1.5% each after Citi upgraded the telecom companies to “buy” from “neutral”.
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
