Stock futures slip ahead of Fed minutes, ADP data

Stock futures slip ahead of Fed minutes, ADP data
MADRID (MarketWatch) — Wall Street could be set to give up some of the prior session’s gains, with stock futures pointing south on Wednesday. Investors were waiting on a labor-market report and minutes of the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which should offer more insight into the central bank’s tapering plans.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (CBE JH4) fell 22 points to 16,432, while those for the S&P 500 index (GLC:SPH4) dropped 2.8 points to 1,827.90. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 (GLC:NDH4) were down 4.25 points to 3,544.50.

The Automatic Data Processing employment report for December, due for release at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time, is largely seen as offering clues to the nonfarm-payrolls report scheduled for release Friday. Economists expect the ADP report to reveal steady job gains in December.

The bigger focus will likely be the release of the FOMC minutes at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. At the Dec. 18 meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues announced a $10 billion reduction in the central bank’s bond -buying program, pulling it back to $75 billion a month, starting in January. The Fed also firmed up its forward guidance, saying short-term interest rates would not rise until “well past the time” the jobless rate drops below its 6.5% threshold. Read: Fed minutes, ADP jobs data: Clues about tapering and labor market

Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade, said in emailed comments that traders are sitting on the fence ahead of the minutes, which could be the biggest market mover of the week.

“We will be very closely looking at the minutes and seeing how much support is there for Bernanke’s view of tapering in every single meeting until the ultra-loose monetary policy ends this year,” said Aslam. “Markets do consider Janet Yellen as a dove, but the fact is that she voted for tapering last year, and we think that we could be in for a surprise when [she] does not become as dovish as many thought.“ http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-future...atest_news