Futures pointed to a lower start early, as fears over the state of the banking sector weighed in following reports that Bank of America will need more capital. On Thursday the government will release the results of its stress tests.
Futures turned higher, indicating a positive start, after two upbeat jobs reports. The ADP National Employment Report estimated a decline of 491,000 in April, much better than the expected decline of 645,000. The latest report also is an improvement from March when 742,000 jobs were lost.
Meanwhile, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. reported that the number of layoffs announced in April fell for the third straight month. Both reports are encouraging and fit the bottoming out theme, but they still indicate a weak labor market. We will get additional employment data on Friday.
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