Wall Street is set to open on an indecisive note on Thursday, as the latest indicators on the employment market have rekindled fears that the Federal Reserve will refrain from cutting rates in March.

Half an hour before the opening, the Dow Jones futures contract was up 0.2%, but the Nasdaq 100 contract was down 0.4%, heralding an uncertain start to the session.

According to the monthly survey published by ADP, the US private sector generated 164,000 new jobs in December, above both consensus (120,000) and the previous month's figure (103,000).

The Labor Department reported 202,000 new jobless claims in the US in the week to December 25, down 18,000 on the previous week.

From the market's point of view, this solid data - which testifies to the robustness of the job market - reinforces the feeling that Fed rates should remain at their current levels for the time being.

According to CME Group's Fedwatch tool, the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut by the central bank has fallen to 60% today, compared with 96% at the start of the week.

On the bond front, Treasury yields are back on the rise, with the 10-year once again approaching the psychological 4% threshold.

The dollar confirms its recent bout of weakness, with the euro trying to get back in touch with 1.0950, while the oil market confirms its favorable trend ahead of the release of crude inventories.

In the face of the disruptions affecting maritime trade in the Panama Canal and the Red Sea, US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) is up 1% at $73.4.

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