Five minutes after the opening...

...we get this gem of an article. Its hilarious as the quantities of percent changes involved are small and most likely reflective of random gyrations. The title of the piece alluded to starting the 3rd quarter off right...but they could not wait longer than 5 minutes?

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock futures are extending early gains after a report that private sector job losses slowed last month.

The ADP National Employment Report said Wednesday that private sector employment fell by 473,000 in June, less than the 532,000 jobs that were shed in May.

Job losses are a key focus while investors try to determine whether the economy is pulling out of the recession. The ADP report comes a day ahead of the Labor Department's key monthly jobs report.

Stock futures initially gave up some ground after the report was released and Treasury bonds sold off, but prices stabilized shortly afterward.

Ahead of the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 32, or 0.4 percent, at 8,426. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures are up 3.30, or 0.4 percent, at 918.80, and Nasdaq 100 index futures are up 9.75, or 0.7 percent, at 1,486.

Later Wednesday morning, investors will get reports on manufacturing, construction spending and pending home sales.

Despite falling sharply Tuesday on a disappointing report on consumer confidence, stocks ended the second quarter with significant gains. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index had its best quarter in a decade.

Stock futures were also boosted by gains in European markets, which rose after upbeat reports on manufacturing activity in both Britain and the 16 countries that share the euro currency.

The Institute for Supply Management issues its reading on the manufacturing sector at 10 a.m. Eastern time. Economists expect manufacturing activity in the U.S. to have declined in June for the 17th straight month, but at the slowest pace since last August.