Looming Jobs Report May Lead To Choppy Trading On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Following the rebound seen in the previous session, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by just 0.1 percent.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

The report, which is expected to show employment increased by 75,000 jobs in August after rising by 73,000 jobs in July, could impact the outlook for interest rates.

Currently, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower interest rates later this month, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool indicating a 97.6 percent chance of a quarter point rate cut.

Payroll processor ADP released a report this morning showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by less than expected in the month of August.

ADP said private sector employment rose by 54,000 jobs in August after jumping by an upwardly revised 106,000 jobs in July.

Economists had expected private sector employment to rise by 65,000 jobs compared to the addition of 104,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department also released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended August 30th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 237,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 229,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 230,000.

Not long after the start of trading, the Institute for Supply Management is due to release its report on service sector activity in the month of August. The services PMI is expected to inch up to 50.5 in August after slipping to 50.1 in July, with a reading above 50 indicating growth.

Stocks gave back ground after an early advance on Wednesday but moved back to the upside late in the session to end the day mostly higher. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 regained ground following the pullback seen over the two previous sessions, although the narrower Dow saw further downside.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 218.10 points or 1.0 percent to 21,497.73 and the S&P 500 climbed 32.72 points or 0.5 percent to 6,448.26. The Dow, on the other hand, posted a modest loss, edging down 24.58 points or 0.1 percent to 45,271.23.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 1.5 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.3 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.7 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are sliding $0.74 to $63.23 a barrel after tumbling $1.62 to $63.97 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after surging $43.30 to $3,635.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slumping $31.60 to $3,603.90 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 148.49 yen versus the 148.10 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1632 compared to yesterday's $1.1662.