U.S. stock index futures traded slightly lower as investors took in early economic data.
Consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said planned layoffs rose in July to 41,676, but downsizing activity stayed at its lowest level since before the 2001 recession. Planned job cuts are well below the pace of last year, despite the slight recent increase. Separately, the ADP employment report showed the private sector created 42,000 jobs in July. This was slightly more than expected and follows a higher revised 19,000 jobs created in the previous month. These figures come ahead of the government’s employment situation report on Friday.
In other economic news, the demand for mortgage applications rose last week for a third straight week as rates fell. Still to come, the ISM services index is expected to have dipped from 53.8 to 53.0 in July. Any reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding.
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