Futures stagnate ahead of payrolls review, Fed minutes By Reuters

(Correct the day to Tuesday in paragraph nine)

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were mostly flat on Wednesday as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of preliminary revisions to U.S. payrolls data and the release of minutes from the Reserve’s latest policy meeting Federal.

The report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is issued at 10:00 a.m. ET. Most economists expect a downward revision, with Goldman Sachs expecting 600,000 to 1 million fewer jobs to be created between April 2023 and March 2024.

“A higher number would not change much in the Federal Reserve’s easing trajectory, as the latest jobs data already suggests a cooling of the labor market,” strategists at ING wrote in a morning note .

Minutes from the Fed’s July policy meeting are also announced later in the day ahead of Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday.

“We expect the Fed chairman to continue to signal that a first rate cut is on the cards for September. However, there is a chance that investors will be disappointed by the comments if there are references to inflationary stiffness,” Guy said. Stear, head of developed markets strategy at Amundi Investment Institute.

Financial markets are currently pricing in a 69.5% chance of a 25 basis point interest rate cut by the Fed in September, with a 30.5% chance of a whopping 50bps cut, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said on Tuesday she remained cautious about any change in central bank policy as she saw continued rising risks to inflation, warning that an overreaction to any single data point could jeopardize progress against inflation.

At 5:10 a.m. ET, the Dow E-minis were up 53 points, or 0.13%, and the E-minis were up 2.25 points, or 0.04%, while the E-mini – decreased by 7.75 points, or 0.04%.

Wall Street’s main indexes closed marginally lower on Tuesday, snapping their recent winning streak.

Risk appetite returned to global equities last week after sharp declines earlier this month, boosted by the likelihood of a US central bank interest rate cut in September, with all three major US benchmarks now at levels seen before of sales.

Among individual stocks, second-quarter earnings from retail major Target are due before the opening bell.

Shares of U.S.-listed Chinese e-commerce company JD ( NASDAQ: ).com fell 7.7 percent in premarket trading after Reuters reported that Walmart ( NYSE: ), the company’s largest shareholder, and sold the entire share in the company.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE: ) gained 11.1% after the electronics maker beat estimates on third-quarter revenue and profit.

Overall, trading volume in US stocks has been light this month as many investors are away on summer vacation.