Wall Street Set to Open Lower in Wednesday Trading; Key Employment Data Falls Short of Forecasts
US stocks looked set to open lower on Wednesday as investors monitored developments in the Middle East and parsed weaker-than-expected key employment data.Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were off 0.4%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.8% lower.Oil prices were lower, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude declining 1.49% to $71.86 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude was down 1.09% to $68.74 a barrel.In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.6%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.6%, and China's Shanghai Composite increased 0.4%. Meanwhile in Europe's early afternoon session, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.5%, Germany's DAX was off 0.1%, and France's CAC was off 0.8%.The ADP National Employment Report, which gauges the monthly change in non-farm, private employment, reported a 98,000 increase in June, well below expectations of a 120,000 rise, according to analysts compiled by Bloomberg.June's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, which tracks the activity level of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector, will be released at 9:45 am ET. Analysts are expecting the index to remain unchanged at 55.7, according to Bloomberg. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.At 10:30 am ET, the US Energy Information Administration will release crude oil inventories, which tracks the weekly change in the number of barrels of commercial crude oil held by US firms.In equities, shares of Token Cat (TC) soared 174%, more than offsetting Tuesday's 77% loss.Eshallgo (EHGO) was 95% higher after the company priced a registered direct offering with institutional investors for the sale of 750,000 Class A ordinary shares.Shares of Largo (LGO) were up 14% after the company said it won a contract from the US Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Materials to supply high-purity vanadium pentoxide.On the losing side shares of Shutterstock (SSTK) tumbled 30% after Getty Images (GETY) said its board unanimously decided to terminate the companies' merger agreement following a UK regulatory condition it deemed unacceptable.Concorde International Group (YOOV) stock was down 29%, following the previous session's 99% gain.Edible Garden (EDBL) stock was down 14% after the company signed into a non-binding letter of intent for a commercialization alliance with a partner in the sustainable food and agriculture sector.
