Stocks got off to a mixed start for the month of June, as yesterday’s report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed a bigger-than-expected contraction in the manufacturing sector for May. This resulted in a big hit for stocks in the Energy (-2.6%), Utilities (-1.3%), and Industrials (-1.2%) sectors. Looking to today, the futures are pointing to a negative start to the session. The major markets in Asia were mixed in overnight trading. Meanwhile, stocks in Europe are showing small losses. Elsewhere, oil prices have been trending lower, with West Texas Intermediate down about 1.5%, to around $73.10 a barrel.
It is a busy week ahead, in terms of economic reports. Early this morning, the U.S. Census Bureau will release the factory orders for April, where the consensus is looking for a 0.6% increase month over month, versus the 1.6% advance registered in March. The Bureau of Labor Statistics was also set to release its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for April, where expectations are that vacancies declined to 8.4 million, down from 8.488 million the month before.
On Wednesday, we’ll get Automatic Data Processing’s (ADP) numbers on private payrolls for May. Analysts there anticipate a gain of 175,000, compared to the 192,000 added in April. Additionally, the ISM will release its non-manufacturing (services) Index for last month. Wall Street’s outlook is that the reading will come in around 50.5%, versus 49.4% in April. (Percentages above 50 indicate expansion, while those below 50 denote contraction.) Also, the Department of Labor is due to announce initial jobless claims, where analysts are forecasting a downtick to 215,000, versus 219,000 the week before.
Lastly, Friday brings more data on the employment situation with the jobs report for May. Views on Wall Street are suggesting that nonfarm payrolls increased by 185,000, or 10,000 more than were added in April. Additionally, it appears likely the unemployment rate will remain flat at around 3.9%, while the year-over-year comparison for average hourly earnings comes in unchanged at 3.9%.
Summing up Monday’s moves for the major indexes, the Dow Jones Industrials fell 115 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 tacked on five points (0.1%) and the NASDAQ gained 93 points (0.6%). - Mario Ferro
At the time of this article’s writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.
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