Equity markets held within a tight range on Wednesday while investors waited on the NFP report and tried to handicap the odds of another FOMC interest rate hike. The minutes of the last meeting were released in the early afternoon and suggest the Fed will continue to hike rates but at a slower pace than before. This is consistent with the idea the Fed will hike rates by more than an additional 25 basis points but only 1 25 basis point hike per meeting if that much. What this means for the economy is more pressure and higher costs that should send consumer demand into retreat.

The NFP report is due out on Friday. It is expected to show job growth decelerate from the previous month but hold strong near 250,000. While the headline figure will be important, the revisions are also important to note, as is the wage data. The average hourly wage gains are expected to cool slightly to 4.3% YOY which is still hot and underpinning general inflation. The takeaway is that the Fed's job is not finished, and it still has a fight on its hands.