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The stock market was grinding higher Wednesday as investors get ready to parse jobs market data that could provide clues about where it may be headed next.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
futures have risen 127 points, or 0.4%, while
S&P 500
futures have gained 0.2%, and
Nasdaq Composite
futures have ticked up 0.1%.
Those moves come after all three major indexes ended Tuesday in the red, amid concerns that the European Union’s new plans for restrictions on Russian oil would cause oil prices to head meaningfully higher. that hasn’t proven the case, however, as WTI Crude oil, which initially shot up to $119 a barrel, is now back near $116, though that is still up more than 10% in the past month.
Now, markets will pour over several pieces of employment data, which may have implications for inflation and the Federal Reserve’s plans for lifting interest rates. First up is Wednesday’s job openings release. Economists expect 11.4 million positions to be open, which would be down from the previous result of 11.5 million. Right now, there are about 1.9 openings for every unemployed person, according to 22V Research. That’s the type of dynamic markets want to see go away. Businesses, eager to hire, are having to pay higher wages, which then forces them to lift prices, contributing to overall inflation.
Jobless claims are due Thursday, and then the May jobs report will be released on Friday. Economists are looking for 328,000 jobs to have been added, which would be below the 428,000 added in April. Markets want to see a strong jobs number, which indicates a strong economy, but not too strong, which would be a sign that the Fed still needs to do more to slow the economy to combat inflation. But a number too far ahead of expectations could also point to still-high inflation, as more people would be earning incomes and spending.
That’s been a focal point for the market recently. The latest inflation data showed that the rate of price increases has slowed down, much to the delight of the stock market, as this indicates that the Fed could soon slow down the pace of interest rate hikes. Now, markets—and the Fed—need to see continued evidence that inflation won’t remain too high.
Between higher oil prices and employment data, stocks could be particularly sensitive to any inflation-related developments over the next few days.
“May is finally over, but inflation worries, the war, and high energy prices welcome the new month with us,” writes Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
Overseas, the pan-European
Stoxx 600
slipped 0.3% and Hong Kong’s
Hang Seng Index
lost 0.6%.
Here are 3 stocks on the move Wednesday:
Salesforce
(CRM) shot up 8% in U.S. premarket trading after the business software company raised forecasts for adjusted fiscal-year earnings.
Food delivery stocks
Deliveroo
(ROO.U.K.) and
Just Eat Takeaway.com
(JET.U.K.) fell 1.8% and 1%, respectively, in London trading. HSBC cut its price target on both stocks, citing lower volume forecasts at
Deliveroo
and a cautious growth outlook at Just Eat.
Amazon.com
(AMZN) has risen 1.2% after JPMorgan called the stock its best e-commerce idea.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@dowjones.com
Read More: Stocks Inch Higher Into June as Inflation Stays in Focus