US stock futures drift lower as Wall St ends record run before nonfarm payrolls

U.S. stock index futures fell slightly on Thursday evening after Wall Street ended its run of record highs as investors hunkered down before key nonfarm payrolls data for November.

Higher-than-expected jobless claims data also did little to quell speculation that the labor market recovered sharply in November, with any resilience in jobs heralding a slower pace of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. 

S&P 500 Futures fell 0.1% to 6,081.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.2% to 21,434.575 points by 18:08 ET (23:08 GMT). Dow Jones Futures fell 0.1% to 44,836.0 points.  Nonfarm payrolls awaited for more rate cues 

Focus was now squarely on nonfarm payrolls data for November, due on Friday. 

The reading is expected to show the labor market recovered sharply from weather-related disruptions in October, with payrolls growth forecast at 202,000, compared to 12,000 in the prior month.

Strength in the labor market is expected to give the Federal Reserve more headroom to cut interest rates later. A slew of Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, said strength in the economy allowed the bank to be more cautious when considering future easing.

Markets largely maintained their bets on a 25 basis point rate cut by the Fed later in December. But doubts have emerged about future easing, especially as investors also looked to inflationary policies under President-elect Donald Trump.  Wall St cools after record-high run 

Wall Street indexes fell on Thursday, facing some profit-taking after clocking a series of record highs this week. 

Technology stocks- which were a key driver of Wall Street’s recent rally, while economically sensitive sectors such as energy, financials and industrials lost ground.

Crypto stocks fell tracking Bitcoin after the world’s biggest cryptocurrency tumbled from record highs above the coveted $100,000 level, as it was slapped with heavy profit-taking. 

The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 6,075.11 points, while the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.2% to 19.702.73 points on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% to 44,765.71 points, with all three indexes falling from record highs.

Source: Investing.com