MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Futures Choppy Ahead Of ADP, ISM Data

By Barbara Kollmeyer and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Nasdaq, S&P 500 futures drop over 1% in 20-minute stretch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures trimmed dramatic losses fueled by a selloff in Asian markets on Wednesday, but were still firmly lower ahead of a raft of gauges of U.S. economic health set to be released, including the ADP employment report, manufacturing data and car sales.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YMM5) dropped 58 points, or 0.3%, to 17,645, while those for the S&P 500 index (ESM5) dropped 7.55 points, or 0.4%, to 2,053.25. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 (NQM5) lost 12.75 points, or 0.3%, to 4,316.75.

The benchmarks had briefly erased losses after strong European data (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eurozone-manufacturing-activity-picks-up-in-march-2015-04-01) spurred a rally across the pond, but the upbeat sentiment evaporated closer to the market open.

Early selloff: The losses, however, were smaller than during Asian hours, when the benchmarks dramatically weakened as the dollar pitched lower against the yen. "It's not every day you see Nasdaq and S&P futures dropping 1.3% in around 20 minutes, and 0.7% in three minutes, especially when risk FX (such as AUD/USD) or copper didn't go along for the ride," IG chief market strategist Chris Weston said in a note.

He said there was a lot of "head-scratching" going on over just what triggered the move. The futures' drop coincided with a fall for the U.S. dollar against the yen (USDJPY). A lackluster reading (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japans-tankan-sentiment-survey-shows-few-gains-2015-03-31) from the Bank of Japan's tankan corporate-sentiment survey prompted investors to buy the yen, a perceived haven. The dollar traded at Yen120.07 at the latest, compared with Yen120.14 late Tuesday in New York.

Appetite for riskier investments was already weak in Asia after sizable losses Tuesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-fed-speakers-iran-keep-investors-on-edge-as-quarter-ends-2015-03-31) for Wall Street. The S&P 500 (SPX) finished down 18.35 points, or 0.9%, at 2,067.89, though it still managed a quarterly gain of 0.4% for its ninth-straight winning quarter.

Data: Later Wednesday, investors will get another big batch of U.S. data -- ADP employment for March at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time, which comes ahead of Friday's nonfarm-payrolls data. After that, the Markit purchasing managers index is due at 9:45 a.m. Eastern.

At 10 a.m. Eastern, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index for March will be released. It is expected to have slipped to 52.5% from 52.9% in February (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ism-manufacturing-slows-in-february-for-fourth-month-2015-03-02).

Construction spending for February comes out at the same time.

Fed speakers: San Francisco Fed President John Williams moderates a panel on financial stability at the Atlanta Fed policy conference at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Also on the docket today, Atlanta Fed chief Dennis Lockhart appears on a monetary policy panel at an Atlanta Fed conference at 11 a.m. Eastern.

Both are voters of the Federal Open Market Committee.

Stocks to watch: Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co.(HPQ) climbed 1.2% premarket after Jefferies lifted the computer maker to buy. Jeffries sees "significant longer-term value" not reflected in the current valuation.

Twitter Inc.(TWTR) picked up 1.1% ahead of the bell after it was initiated at buy with a $65 price target, also at Jefferies.

Shares of Staples Inc.(SPLS) added 1.3% after KeyBanc Capital lifted the office-supply company to overweight from sector weight.

Monsanto Co.(MON) is projected to report fiscal second-quarter earnings of $2.94 a share, according to a consensus estimate by FactSet.

And Acuity Brands Inc.(AYI) is expected to report fiscal second-quarter earnings of $1.05 a share.

Other markets: Oil (CLK5) remained under pressure (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) as talks on Iran's nuclear program resumed in Switzerland after the deadline was extended.

Metals were mixed, while the dollar struggled for direction against (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid)other major currencies.

Asian stock markets closed mixed, with China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ending above 3,800 for the first time since 2008 (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid).

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