S&P futures edged up on Wednesday as traders anticipated the forthcoming release of the postponed January jobs report. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.2%. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 59 points, representing a rise of 0.1%. Traders are anticipating the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ release of the January nonfarm payrolls report, scheduled for Wednesday morning. The release of the data was postponed as a result of a partial government shutdown that concluded on February 3. Economists anticipate that the most recent jobs report will indicate minimal to no growth in January. The Dow Jones consensus anticipates a gain of 55,000, in contrast to a December increase of 50,000. Economists project that the unemployment rate will settle at 4.4%. Furthermore, traders will be attentive to a series of revisions from the BLS, which may provide insights into the condition of the U.S. jobs market and economy.

“It’s been hard to get a read of exactly where the labor data is going to come out through the adjustments following out of the shutdown along with the basic uncertainty around the economy,” Krishna Guha told on Tuesday. “There seems to be a weaker relationship right now between growth and employment…part of that is the uncertainty and part of that, we think, may also be some secular AI-related effects on the labor market,” he added. A disappointing jobs report would contribute to the prevailing negative sentiment in the market, which was influenced by weaker-than-anticipated consumer data released on Tuesday. A recent report indicated that consumer spending in December remained unchanged, falling short of the 0.4% monthly increase anticipated by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

During the regular trading session, the S&P 500 experienced a decline of 0.3%, influenced by concerns regarding the effects of artificial intelligence on the financial sector, which cast a shadow over the index. Following the launch of a new AI-powered tax planning tool by tech platform Altruist, the stocks of several financial services firms experienced a decline. The Nasdaq Composite experienced a decline of approximately 0.6%. However, the 30-stock Dow managed to secure a gain of 0.1%, achieving yet another all-time high and a closing record.

This week will see the release of additional economic data that may influence market movements, beyond the jobs report. The consumer price index, a crucial economic indicator serving as a measure for inflation, is anticipated to be released on Friday.