Investors await ADP jobs data due at 8:15 a.m. Eastern time
By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures rose on Wednesday as the month of August drew to a close, with overseas gains providing support and data ahead that will give more clues about the labor market.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJ1U +0.64% rose 87 points to 11,579, while those on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index SP1U +1.00% added 10.60 points to 1,215.40. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 ND1U +0.91% rose 19.50 points to 2,246.50.
Wall Street just managed a positive close on Tuesday after a late selloff. The market rallied at one point after the release of minutes from the Aug. 9 Federal Open Market Committee meeting that hinted of possible Fed action to boost the U.S. economy.
The Dow DJIA +0.18% rose 20.70 points to 11,559.95 in a choppy session on Tuesday that briefly saw the blue-chip index stray into positive territory for the year.
“Our economists still believe that maturity extension is the most likely next step for the Fed, but unless we see an extreme deterioration in economic data in the next three weeks they do not believe this will be implemented at the September meeting,” said Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank, in a note. He said November would be more likely as it would give FOMC members time to further assess the economy.
Data on tap for Wednesday include ADP payroll figures for August at 8:15 a.m., the Chicago purchasing managers index for August at 9:45 a.m. and factory orders for July at 10 a.m. All times are Eastern.
Investors will be looking at ADP data closely as a potential precursor for the August nonfarm payroll report due Friday.
On the corporate front, shares of DryShips Inc. DRYS -8.52% fell over 10% in premarket trade after the company swung to a second-quarter net loss of $114.1 million from profit of $19.5 million in the year-ago period.
Shares of Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. JOSB +5.14% fell 3.7% in premarket action after the firm reported fiscal second-quarter net income of 74 cents a share, a 25% gain compared to the year-earlier period, but that fell short of expectations. Sales rose 22%.
Joy Global Inc. JOYG +4.19% lifted its outlook for the year after reporting a 46% rise in fiscal third-quarter profit. Also, Cameron International Corp. CAM +0.14% will buy the LeTourneau Technologies Inc. drilling products unit from Joy Global for $375 million in cash.
AT&T Inc. T +0.91% shares could be in focus after the telecom group said it will return 5,000 outsourced wireless call-center jobs back to the U.S. if regulators approve its $39 billion deal to buy T-Mobile USA, owned by Deutsche Telekom AG DE:DTE +0.20% .
Shares of Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. LGF -5.32% could be active after the company said late Tuesday that billionaire Carl Icahn and his son Brett Icahn will sell their 44.2 million shares in the company.
Meanwhile, Clorox Co. CLX -0.03% late Tuesday rejected a bid from Carl Icahn, saying it “substantially undervalues the company and is not credible.”
Shares of PVH Corp. PVH +2.47% could also move after the company lifted its yearly forecast late Tuesday.
Stocks in Europe were firmly in the black, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP +1.62% up 1.4%. Asia stocks closed out August on a mostly upbeat note, with the Hang Seng Index gaining sharply.
Gold for December delivery rose $4 to $1,833.80 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex. Crude oil futures for October delivery slipped $1.14 to $87.77 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar was little changed against its major rivals.
