S&P 500 futures dip as weak job data fuel recession fears
Stock futures inched lower Thursday morning as signs of a potentially weakening labour market fuelled fears of an economic downturn on the horizon.
S&P 500 futures were 0.2%
The latest weekly jobless claims came in higher than expected, adding to recent signals that pointed to slowing job growth. The expansion in private payrolls was well below expectations in March, ADP said earlier this week. Meanwhile, the number of available positions fell below 10 million in February — a first in almost two years. Job cuts have also soared by nearly fivefold so far this year from a year ago.
Over the past several months, investors had cheered signs of economic cooling on the hope that it could push the Federal Reserve to change course on its interest rate hiking campaign. But they are now wondering if the central bank has gone too far in its bid to cool inflation, tightening the economy to the point of a recession.
Thursday will cap off a shortened trading week with the market closed for Good Friday. Investors will still closely monitor March jobs report Friday morning. Nonfarm payrolls have been showing solid growth despite layoffs across tech and financial sectors, but many believe the trend is poised to reverse soon.
Jobless claims totalled 228,000 for the week ended April 1, as signs build that the labour market is coming under pressure, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The total represented a decline of 18,000 from the week before, following seasonal revisions that took the initially reported number up by 48,000 to 246,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 200,000 from Thursday’s report.
Continuing claims, which run a week behind, edged higher to 1.823 million, the highest since December 2021.
The report comes a day ahead of the department’s nonfarm payrolls count, which is expected to show a gain of 238,000 for March.
S&P 500 TECHNICAL ANALYSIS DAILY CHART:
S&P 500 is currently trading in up channel.
S&P 500 is currently trading above 20&50 SMA.
RSI is in buying zone which suggests bullishness and Stochastic is suggesting a downtrend.
Immediate resistance is at 4122.20 & its immediate support level is 4095.89
HOW TO TRADE S&P 500 IN THIS WEEK
The S&P 500 is currently moving up in a channel; it is descending toward its support zone; if it breaks and maintains below the support zone, we may experience a downside.
