Credit: Shutterstock photoStocks are drifting into a busy set of key news events.
S&P 500 futures and European markets are little-changed before ADP's private-sector payrolls report at 8:15 a.m. ET. It will be followed by a European Central Bank meeting tomorrow and congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. Friday brings non-farm payrolls and an important OPEC conference.
The jobs numbers are especially important because they will be viewed as confirmation of a potential Fed rate hike on Dec. 16. The ECB meeting is expected to yield further monetary easing in the common currency and energy analysts anticipate no reduction in oil production. That could weigh on the euro and crude, already at long-term lows.
The S&P 500 rallied 1.1 percent yesterday, its biggest gain in two weeks, after finding support at its 10-day moving average. The index is less than 1 percent below its high from a month ago and less than 2 percent below its record level in May.
A combination of bullish sentiment and positive seasonality have supported equities heading into year-end. optionMONSTER's researchLAB market scanner shows money flowing into consumer-discretionary stocks such as e-commerce, retailers, and homebuilders. Semiconductors have also been coming to life amid a flurry of bullish option activity.
In company-specific news, Cabela's rose 4 percent after hiring Guggenheim to advise it on a potential sale. Qualcomm rose 3 percent after signing a patent license with China's Xiaomi.
Oil fell more than 1 percent and copper is down almost 1 percent. Gold and silver eked out small gains. The U.S. dollar rose slightly against the euro and Japanese yen.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
