news/AMZN/2023.01.05/Wall St eyes lower open as labor data fans rate hike fears.txt

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)*U.S. private payrolls rise more than expected*Initial weekly jobless claims fall*Amazon rises after CEO flags more job cuts*Futures down: Dow 0.51%, S&P 0.52%, Nasdaq 0.57%Jan 5 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set to
open lower on Thursday after further evidence of a strong labor
market spurred worries that the Federal Reserve could keep
raising interest rates for longer than expected.The ADP National Employment report showed private employment
rose by 235,000 jobs in December, after rising by 127,000 jobs
in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast an
increase of 150,000 jobs."The ADP report is causing investors to be on the defensive
again regarding the Fed and that it might indeed need to be
raising interest rates longer and higher than the market is
currently anticipating," said Sam Stovall, chief investment
strategist at CFRA Research, New York.Another report showed the number of Americans filing new
claims for unemployment benefits fell last week from the prior
week.Both the reports come a day after data showed a moderate
fall in U.S. job openings, adding to evidence that the labor
market remains tight.The labor market's resilience has been a cause of concern
for markets as it could give the Fed reason to keep raising
rates for longer than expected this year, after the central
bank's aggressive tightening pummeled U.S. equities in 2022.Wall Street's main indexes erased some of their gains on
Wednesday after minutes from the Fed's December meeting showed
the central bank was laser-focused on fighting inflation even as
officials agreed to slow the interest rate hiking pace to limit
risks to economic growth.After Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari on Wednesday
stressed the need for continued tightening, investors will be
watching out for comments from Atlanta Federal Reserve President
Raphael Bostic and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard later
on Thursday.Money market participants now expect a 58.4% chance of a
25-basis point rate hike to 4.50%-4.75% in February, but still
see rates peaking at about 5% by June.The more comprehensive nonfarm payrolls report is due on
Friday, with investors hoping to see signs of cooling in the
labor market that could give the Fed some reason to slow its
monetary tightening.At 8:35 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 170 points,
or 0.51%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 20.25 points, or
0.52%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 62.25 points, or
0.57%.Shares of Amazon.com Inc rose nearly 1% in
premarket trading after Chief Executive Andy Jassy said layoffs
will now increase to more than 18,000 roles as part of a
workforce reduction it previously disclosed.Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc fell 4.8% after the
drugstore chain posted a quarterly loss on an opioid litigation
charge.Bed Bath & Beyond Inc dropped 18.3% after the
company said it was exploring options including a bankruptcy
filing to address the home goods retailer's plunging sales,
dwindling cash and debt load.
(Reporting by Shubham Batra, Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Ankika
Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)