Key points for tomorrow: E-Mini, Jobs Report

By Mark O’Brien, Senior Broker

U.S. stock index futures traded on both sides of the flatline into today’s close of trading with a lack of progress on tariff negotiations and economic data suggesting the uncertainty was taking a toll.

E-Mini

At this typing, the E-mini S&P 500 index traded near unchanged, while the E-mini Dow Jones contract dipped ±100 pts and the E-mini Nasdaq pushed up ±67 pts.

Trade News

President Donald Trump stated he expected a call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week to discuss trade, though he also suggested it might be an uphill battle. Investors would welcome any thaw in trade relations with China, one of the U.S.’s largest trading partners.

Jobs Report

Meanwhile, investors also await the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report this Friday. The report could be a barometer of how much, if any, businesses are delaying hiring due to tariffs.

On Wednesday, payroll processor ADP said private-sector firms added just 37,000 workers in May, the lowest since March 2023, and well below Wall Street’s expectations of 115,000 workers. April’s tally was also revised down. ADP’s report is sometimes seen as a harbinger of the official government release, though it often misses the mark.

Also on Wednesday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Trump’s tax bill will increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over the next decade. Investors and analysts have warned that elevated deficits will lead to higher interest rates, since the U.S. government will need to pay more to attract investors to buy its debt.

Meanwhile, a closely-watched gauge of business activity in the service sector fell below the line that separates growth from contraction in April. ISM’s Services Purchasing Managers Index was at 49.9 in May, the lowest in a year, and a reminder of the impact of trade war uncertainty.

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