US STOCKS-Wall St set for flat open as investors assess data, Trump economic emergency report

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By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set for a subdued open on Wednesday, as investors digested softer-than-expected jobs data and took stock of a report that said President-elect Donald Trump was mulling a national economic emergency declaration.

At 8:53 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 8 points, or 0.02%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 2.5 points, or 0.04%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were down 21.75 points, or 0.10%.

Futures pared losses after an ADP National Employment Report showed private payrolls rose by 122,000 jobs last month, lower than the 140,000 economists polled by Reuters were expecting.

However, a separate Labor Department report showed jobless claims stood at 201,000 in the previous week, lower than estimates of 218,000. The main focus this week is Friday's non-farm payrolls data.

"It seems as if one report is contradicting the other. The reduction in jobless claims implies that more people are getting work, whereas the ADP number shows that fewer people got work than expected," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.

"Futures are fluctuating between gains and losses in a minor extent trying to ascertain what this data implies for Friday's payroll numbers."

Megacaps were mixed in premarket trading. Nvidia NVDA added 1%, while Alphabet GOOGL.O dropped 1.8% and Meta META.O was flat.

Alleviating some pressure on stocks, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond US10YT=RR cut gains. Although at 4.7% it was at its highest in eight months.

Traders now expect the Federal Reserve to deliver at least two interest rate cuts this year, up from one before the data. The first one is expected in either May or June, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Fed governor Christopher Waller said inflation should continue falling in 2025 and allow the central bank to further reduce interest rates, though at an uncertain pace.

Minutes from the Fed's December meeting is due at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Market sentiment was also fragile after a CNN report said that Trump was mulling on building the new tariff program by using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, which authorizes a president to manage imports during a national emergency.

Ahead of Trump taking office later in the month, reports around potential surcharges on U.S. trade partners have kept investors on edge. They are also concerned that his policies including mass deportations and tariffs could spark a global trade war and stoke inflation pressures.

On Tuesday, Wall Street's main indexes closed lower after data reflected a robust labor market and upbeat services activity. The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX and the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC logged their biggest daily declines since the Fed's December meeting, when the central bank issued a cautious stance on upcoming interest rate cuts.

Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O dropped 1.9% after brokerage HSBC downgraded the stock to "reduce" from "buy".

Quantum-computing stocks Rigetti Computing RGTI.O fell 24.3%, IonQ IONQ.N dropped 16.6% and Quantum Computing QUBT.O lost 25.6% after Nvidia boss Jensen Huang said computers based on the emerging technology are as much as 30 years away.

Tapestry TPR.N rose 1.1% after Barclays upgraded the luxury name to "overweight" from "equal weight".

Markets will be closed on Thursday for a national day of mourning to mark the death of former President Jimmy Carter.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian, Medha Singh and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

((johann.mcherian@thomsonreuters.com;))