Newscasts - US Markets Briefing: Wall St mixed with focus on more data, Fed commentary

Foot Locker

03/12/2024 20:00

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Source: 'Reuters - Business videos'

Description: Wall Street's main indexes were subdued in volatile trading on
Tuesday after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record high levels in the
previous session, with focus on a crucial jobs report later this week and
commentary from Federal Reserve officials.
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Video Transcript:

Wall Street mixed with focus on data amid growing uncertainty abroad. Welcome
to US Markets Briefing. I'm David Pollard, Wall Street’s main indices
were subdued in volatile trading today, with the focus on a crucial jobs
report later this week and commentary from Federal Reserve officials. Adding
to a mood of uncertainty, China on Tuesday banned exports to the United States
of the critical minerals gallium, germanium, and antimony that have potential
military applications, escalating trade tensions the day after Washington's
latest crackdown on China's chips sector. And South Korea's Won tumbled to a
two-year low against the Dollar following a declaration of martial law there.
Troops were seen trying to enter the South Korean parliament after President
Yoon Suk Yeol announced the move in a surprise late night TV address which
slammed domestic political opponents and sent shockwaves through the country.
Latest report say parliament has rejected the declaration. Treasury yields
edged higher after the Labor Department released its closely monitored JOLTS
survey, which showed job openings on the rise and layoffs on the wane,
supporting the notion that the labor market continues its gradual cooldown. In
a busy week for labor data ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls, the ADP
National Employment report is expected to come in with a reading of 150,000
for November, down from 233,000 prior. Robust US growth has helped power
stocks higher all year, even as it raises concerns of an inflationary rebound
that can undo the Fed's progress in taming consumer prices.

So if we had a stronger than expected employment report and expectations are
north of 200,000 jobs, that may cause some on the Fed to question whether they
should cut. Our base case expectation is that they do cut and then the
question will be the pace of cutting for next year.

Also in the diary tomorrow, durable goods and factory orders with the second
of those seen with a 0.2% rise in October after a drop of 0.5% prior. And
November PMI readings could well confirm a picture of a healthy US services
sector with ISM non-manufacturing seen at 55.5, down just a tad on October's
reading of 56. Also tomorrow, the retail flavor continues to dominate earnings
with Dollar Tree, Campbell Soup, American Eagle, and Foot Locker all due to
report. Finally, oil prices saw strong rises today as investors await an OPEC+
meeting expected to rubber stamp continued output cuts, while a fragile
ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon provided additional support. Both
benchmarks were up by over 2%. That is US Markets Briefing