U.S. futures dip, JOLTS data ahead - what's moving markets

investing.com:

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks point lower as markets gear up for fresh job openings data that will serve as a precursor to Friday's much-anticipated nonfarm payrolls report. Elsewhere, the Reserve Bank of Australia leaves interest rates unchanged and flags some uncertainty around the global outlook, while a private survey shows that activity in China's services sector expanded at a faster than expected rate in November.

1. Futures inch down

U.S. stock futures edged lower on Tuesday after equities on Wall Street started the first full week of trading in December in the red.

By 04:58 ET (09:58 GMT), the Dow futures contract had shed 29 points or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures had dipped by 10 points or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had fallen by 69 points or 0.4%.

The main indices in New York ended the previous session lower, as a decline in shares in megacap tech firms interrupted a surge in equities that saw the benchmark S&P 500 post its highest close so far this year. U.S. Treasury yields, which typically move inversely to prices, also rose, adding to the downward pressure on stocks.

Investors seemed to be turning somewhat cautious with the release later in the week of the key monthly U.S. jobs report, which could lead markets to reassess their expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate reduction early next year. Analysts at ING have also suggested that traders may be «positioning» themselves for potential pushback from Fed Chair Jerome Powell against rate cut bets next week, when the central bank holds its last policy meeting of 2023.

2. JOLTS ahead

A slew of economic figures this week are set to give color to a picture of the U.S. labor market that will completed by Friday's much-anticipated nonfarm payrolls report.

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