06:19 AM EDT, 09/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity investors will watch out for -- apart from geopolitics and developments in China -- the jobs data this week, given that the Federal Reserve's focus has shifted to the employment aspect of its dual mandate.

* The Fed's pivot follows a string of soft core inflation readings, putting increased emphasis upon Friday's payrolls, a Scotiabank note said late Friday. How NFP turns out may influence market sentiment toward whether the FOMC delivers another 50 basis points cut on Nov. 7 or sticks to guidance in favor of a pair of 25 basis points moves into year-end.

* "A key issue is that seasonal adjustment haircuts to the seasonally unadjusted estimate for the change in nonfarm payrolls should begin to turn in such a way as to add some upside to job growth starting with September's reading," the Scotiabank note said.

* Jefferies' optimism for September payrolls is based on initial and continuing claims data since mid-August. The decline in initial and continuing claims this year is about the same as in September last year when NFPs rose 246,000, a note late Friday said.

* More jobs data due this week includes JOLTS job openings on Tuesday and ADP private payrolls on Wednesday. The Challenger layoffs arrive on Thursday.

* Fed Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak on Monday, and the market will look for his views on the data released since the monetary policy announcements on Sept. 18.

* Investors will be watching China as expectations of more stimulus following a package of measures unveiled by the People's Bank of China. Following gains last week, the Shanghai Stock Exchange catapulted 8.1% on Monday, touching a 52-week high. The impact of China in the US was in the Basic Materials sector -- home to industries such as aluminum, building materials, and copper -- which last week topped the charts.

* Despite growing tensions in the Middle East, crude oil is weighed down by upside risks to production from Saudi Arabia, among the top three oil producers in the world.