The latest US ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Data comes out today

The latest US ADP Nonfarm Employment Change Data comes out today

The consensus for July assumes 77,000 new jobs, down sharply from June's 150,000-job gain. It is designed to calculate the monthly variation of employment in 19 manufacturing sectors within the United States, excluding agricultural employment. Data is sourced from about 400,000 private enterprises, which provides an extremely useful picture of the labor market and activity in the industrial sectors.

A higher forecast of actual employment could be a sign of stronger anticipated job growth and could be a booster of confidence in the economic recovery. In such a case, dollar quotes may react positively, as investors would consider this to be a strong labor market. If employment continues to rise, consumers will likely spend more, translating into further growth of the economy.

On the other hand, if it comes out worse than the forecast, the employment change might presage a slowdown in the jobs market. Such an outcome could make investors more cautious, and dollar quotes may be negatively affected. A weaker labor market would cool consumer spending and slow overall economic momentum.

Pending Home Sales Report to be Released May Indicate Trends in Housing Market

The National Association of Realtors is poised to release the latest United States Pending Home Sales report today at 14:00 GMT. Economists are anticipating a rise of 2.2 percent this month in the number of home sales contracts signed, rebounding sharply from an earlier drop of –2.1 percent the previous month. This measure shows the change in home sales contracts signed in a particular month versus the prior month and is a leading indicator of the US housing market, projecting final sales figures for the following two months.

Should actual Pending Home Sales growth come out higher than expected, that would presage a more vigorous recovery in the housing sector than expected, and such news could give investors more confidence in the sector. Meanwhile, dollar quotes could benefit from such a result as well since a healthy housing market is widely regarded as an indication of overall economic health and consumer confidence.

A Pending Home Sales growth below expectations would point to continuous stress in the housing market and could then go on to prompt a more conservative view by investors. In that kind of situation, it would tend to weigh down dollar quotes, as weaker data on housing could be viewed as an indication of more general economic vulnerability.

The report will take on more meaning in relation to its implications for the housing market and the broader economy as the release date approaches. Its actual impact on the financial markets, therefore, will depend on how the data aligns or fails to align with expectations and the context in which it is received.