U.S. stock futures were struggling early Tuesday following record highs in the previous session.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat. S&P 500 futures were edging up less than 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.1%.
The S&P and Nasdaq Composite hit new highs on the first trading day of December but will be tested this week by a series of economic data releases, culminating in the jobs report on Friday.
“If you think the stock market’s strong fall was due to economic data hurdling fairly low expectations, then you’ve got to be a little skeptical heading into the winter. Yields show that expectations have moved a lot over the past two months, yet we haven’t seen any sustained, clear momentum in economic data,” said Callie Cox, chief market strategist at Ritholtz Wealth Management.
Ahead of the data releases, traders have been adding to bets on a December rate cut, with the probability of a quarter-point reduction standing at 73% according to the CEM FedWatch tool, up from 59% a week ago.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note stood at 4.217% early on Tuesday, ticking up from the previous day.
Elsewhere, the People’s Bank of China on Monday vowed to further reduce financing costs for companies and households, its Governor Pan Gongsheng said in a speech. He said the central bank will employ a variety of monetary policy tools to strengthen countercyclical adjustments and maintain adequate liquidity, according to an official readout.
