BLBG:U.S. Stock Futures Retreat as ADP Jobs Data Tops Estimate
U.S. stock-index futures remained lower after a private report showed companies added more jobs than economists forecast last month, fueling concern the Federal Reserve will begin to reduce monetary stimulus.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) expiring in September slipped 0.6 percent to 1,598.3 at 8:17 a.m. in New York.
Companies in the U.S. boosted employment by 188,000 workers in June, figures from the Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP Research Institute showed today. The median forecast of 38 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an advance of 160,000. Estimates ranged from gains of 100,000 to 196,000.
U.S. stock markets are closed tomorrow for the Independence Day holiday and will shut today at 1 p.m. local time. The S&P 500 yesterday fell less than 0.1 percent to 1,614.08. The gauge has slipped 3.3 percent since May 21, the day before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank may taper bond purchases if the U.S. economy improves in line with forecasts.
Oil surged above $100 a barrel as political unrest in Egypt sparked concern of Middle East supply disruptions and as a report showed U.S. stockpiles shrank in the week ended June 28.
Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi defied protests demanding his resignation, hours before a military-imposed deadline. Clashes between Mursi supporters and opponents intensified with at least 23 people killed over the past day, according to state-run media. The army said July 1 it would impose its own plan if Mursi didn’t end the turmoil and meet the people’s demands within 48 hours.
In Portugal, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho told voters in a televised speech from Lisbon yesterday that he’s trying to hold his government together after Foreign Affairs Minister Paulo Portas, leader of junior coalition party CDS, quit.
Portas was the second minister to resign this week after finance chief Vitor Gaspar stepped down, saying his credibility had been compromised by the government’s failure to meet budget targets set by the European Union.
To contact the reporter on this story: Michael P. Regan in New York at mregan12@bloomberg.net
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