社区

Private-sector employment increased by 568,000 in September.

U.S. stock index futures were trading lower early Wednesday as bond yields rose on fears about inflation, the federal debt ceiling debate in Washington, and the likelihood of tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

Data from ADP showing a jump in private payrolls in September did little to stem the declines.

How are stock-index futures trading?

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 312 points, or 0.92%, to 34315, the S&P 500 increased 45 points, or 1.05%, to 4346, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 178 points, or 1.25%, to 14434.

What's driving the market?

A report from Automatic Data Processing Inc. showed that 568,000 private-sector jobs were created in September, outpacing estimates from the Wall Street Journal for 425,000. However, a reading for August was reduced to 340,000 from 374,000.

Still, the labor-market report, coming ahead of the more closely followed nonfarm payrolls report due Friday from the Labor Department, may be sufficient to meet the Federal Reserve's criteria for "substantial further progress" as the central bank looks ready to taper its monthly purchases of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economists expect the economy added a net 500,000 jobs in September, up from the disappointing 235,000 jobs added in August, according to a Wall Street Journal poll. The unemployment rate is expected to tick down to 5.1% from 5.2%.

Meanwhile, rising bond yields were already in motion and set to derail chances of any follow-up to Tuesday's gains in stocks. Some investors were seeking haven in the U.S. dollar , which rose as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note gained 2 basis points to 1.544%. European and most Asian stocks fell.

The combined effect of rising yields and a global energy crunch especially in Europe and Asia is triggering "more negative sentiment," said Saxo Bank's chief investment officer, Steen Jakobsen, in a note to clients.

"Yesterday's session failed to take out the previous day's high, so if the energy crunch narrative builds today with yields extending their rise, then we could see a renewed selloff," said Jakobsen.

Natural-gas futures tapped fresh record prices on Wednesday in the U.K. and Europe, but were seen pulling back substantively on reports of increased production.

Technology stocks looked set to lead any selloff, as rising yields can be a negative for shares of fast-growing companies as they make those future cash flows appear less valuable.