Stock futures rose slightly Wednesday as Treasury yields pulled back from multiyear highs following the release of much weaker-than-expected jobs data. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 70 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures added 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively. ADP said Wednesday 89,000 private payrolls were added last month. That’s well below a Dow Jones forecast of 160,000 and fewer than an upwardly revised 180,000 payroll additions from August. Treasury yields pulled back from their 2007-level highs on the data. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 4.756%, after having crossed the 4.8% mark on Tuesday. The data comes on the back of a losing session on Wall Street after job openings data indicated the labor market is still strong and bond yields marched higher. The Dow lost 1.3%, notching its worst session since March. The S&P 500 tumbled 1.4% and at one point hit its lowest level since June. The Nasdaq Composite ended 1.9% lower. Those losses pulled the Dow into the red on the year: It’s now off 0.4%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are up more than 10% and 24%, respectively, for 2023. “Interest rates are the primary driver of equity performance today and have been for the better part of two months,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. Traders will also watch for economic data on purchasing and housing orders slated for Wednesday and and the weekly jobless claims report expected Thursday. Treasury yields fell from multiyear highs on Wednesday after new jobs data showed tentative signs of a weakening labor market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped 5 basis points to 4.763% following the data release. Earlier, yields rose as high as 4.884% after crossing the 4.8% mark on Tuesday — levels last seen in 2007. The 30-year Treasury bond yield slid 6 basis points to 4.878%, after briefly trading above 5% earlier in the session, also at levels last seen in 2007. The 2-year Treasury note yield was last down 5 basis points at 5.104%. Yields and prices have an inverse relationship, so that when prices rise, yields fall. Hong Kong stocks led Asia-Pacific markets lower on Tuesday, in their return from a National Day holiday on Monday. The city’s benchmark Hang Seng index closed 2.69% lower at 17,331.22, recovering slightly from earlier in the session when it was down more than 3%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 traded down 1.28% to close at 6,943.4 after the central bank held rates at 4.10%, as expected by a Reuters poll. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.64% to close 31,237.94. South Korean and Chinese markets are closed for holidays. Oil fell on Wednesday, as pledges by Saudi Arabia and Russia to continue crude output cuts to the end of 2023 were offset by demand fears stemming from macroeconomic headwinds. Brent crude oil futures were down $1.58, or 1.74%, to $89.34 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell $1.60, or 1.79%, to $87.63 per barrel. Oil prices remain under pressure from demand fears driven by macroeconomic headwinds. Gold held near a seven-month low on Wednesday, while palladium slipped to its weakest level since late 2018, as a sell-off in the U.S. bond markets lifted yields after economic data raised worries that interest rates will likely remain high. Spot gold was steady at $1,822.20 per ounce by 0948 GMT, while U.S. gold futures dropped 0.2% to $1,838.40.
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