Dow futures largely flat; caution ahead of Friday’s payrolls data

In anticipation of the release of the much anticipated official employment data, investors remain hesitant about the state of the American economy and expect U.S. equities to begin Thursday with little change.

At 11:00 GMT, the Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 35 points or 0.3%, the S&P 500 Futures traded 2 points lower, and the Dow Futures contract was only up 2 points.

The major indexes ended in a mixed bag on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite, which is heavily weighted in technology, doing the worst, losing nearly 1%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ending 80 points or 0.2% higher.

This week’s disappointing economic data has stoked worries that the Federal Reserve’s protracted cycle of rate hikes to tackle skyrocketing inflation may push the country into a recession.

Although U.S. job vacancies fell to their lowest level in almost two years in February earlier in the week, Wednesday’s ADP private payrolls data was lower than anticipated, providing support to the notion of a cooling labour market.

Prior to Friday’s official employment report, which is issued with equities markets closed for the Good Friday holiday, weekly initial jobless claims are due later in the afternoon. A further indication that the many rate rises are having an effect on the economy is that analysts predict the economy to have added 239,000 jobs last month, fewer than the figure in February.