The September slump will likely continue as the index futures are sharply lower early Wednesday. Traders will likely wait and watch to see how the labor market data, due for the week, pan out and their implications for the Fed funds rate. Wharton Professor and WisdomTree Chief Economist Jeremy Siegel said the report will decide whether the cut is going to be 25 basis points or double as much.

Tech stocks were lower in premarket trading, with Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) down over 1%. The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, spiked nearly 10% to $22.76. The Labor Department’s job opening data and the Beige Book and a few earnings reports are also on traders’ radar. If these rule out a recession, traders may go bargain hunting to take advantage of Tuesday’s pullback.

Futures

Performance (+/-)

Nasdaq 100

-0.50%

S&P 500

-0.31%

Dow

-0.19%

R2K

-0.29%

In premarket trading on Wednesday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) fell 0.36% to $550.90, and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) slid 0.60% to $459.05, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Cues From Last Session:

A tech tumble that morphed into a broader market weakness dragged stocks sharply lower on Tuesday, with a trio of weak data serving as a trigger. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index and S&P Global’s final manufacturing PMI came in worse than expected and the Commerce Department said construction spending fell more than expected in July. The string of negative data reignited recession talks, pushing traders on the defensive.

The averages opened lower and fell sharply in early trading. The sell-off continued despite a slower momentum for the remainder of the session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite settled at the lowest level since Aug. 12 and the S&P 500 ...