4:21pm: ADP report rally doesn't hold
The Dow closed Wednesday down 70 points, 0.2%, at 36,054, the Nasdaq Composite lost 83 points, 0.6%, to 14,147 and the S&P 500 fell 18 points. 0.4%, to 4,549. The small-cap Russell 2000 index declined 4 points, 0.2%, to 1,852.
The indexes fell over the course of the day, giving up their early morning gains. At one point, the DJIA was up nearly 170 points.
Traders initially responded well to ADP data that showed private sector employment increased by 103,000 jobs in November, easing from a 113,000 rise in October and falling short of the FXStreet cited consensus of 130,000.
Meanwhile, electric vehicle producer Rivian gained nearly 6% after the company teased a new simplified battery pack structure coming in 2024.
12:00pm: Stocks fall back, conceding early gains
Stocks conceded early gains as investors continue to study data on the US labour market ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls.
At midday, the the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 21.45 points, 0.1%, at 36,146.01, the S&P 500 was little changed at 4,566.71 and the Nasdaq Composite was also little changed at 14,235.38.
Craig erlam at Oanda said there's no getting around the fact that the data at the end of the week - US jobs report - is the one everyone is eagerly waiting for but the releases in the interim both fill and void and help to build the case that the economy is a little softer and price pressures are subsiding.
"In this case, ADP reported employment gains of 103,000 from a downwardly revised 106,000 in October. As ever, this data should be taken with a pinch of salt when it comes to Friday's NFP and has at times been a wildly unreliable indicator for it, but it still suggests employment is trending lower."
Stocks to watch include McDonald's which eased 0.4% after it unveiled plans for 50,000 restaurants by 2027 alongside plans to boost movile usage and targets for operating margin and capex.
9:44am: Stocks rally as jobs market cools
US stocks climbed on Wednesday after further evidence that the jobs market is colling in the face of high interest rates.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 97.79 points, 0.3%, at 36,222.35, the S&P 500 was up 21.87 points, 0.5%, at 4,589.05 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 39.27 points, 0.3%, at 14,269.18.
The US labour market added slightly fewer jobs than expected last month, according to a tracker from payroll processing firm ADP on Wednesday.
ADP said sector employment increased by 103,000 jobs in November, easing from a 113,000 rise in October and falling short of the FXStreet cited consensus of 130,000.
In the goods-producing sector, employment shrunk by 14,000 jobs, while it rose by 117,000 in service providers.
Elsewhere, stocks to watch include Exxon Mobil, down 0.3%, which said it was on track to deliver around $14 billion of further earnings and cash flow growth potential over the next four years.
The oil giant also intends to increase the pace of share repurchases to $20 billion per year from the Pioneer close through 2025, assuming reasonable market conditions.
It also plans to boost oil and gas production by about 10% to 4.2 million barrels a day by 2027, ramping up investments in key operations in Guyana and the Permian Basin.
Mastercard rose 0.8% after it unveiled plans a new $11 billion share buyback after Tuesday’s market close while Merck fell 0.6% after a disappointing drug trial update.
7:00am: US markets expected to open modestly higher
US markets are expected to edge higher when trading resumes on Wednesday ahead of more data on the jobs market and the interest rates call in Canada.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%, while those for the S&P 500 were 0.2% higher and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.2%.
ADP will release its November employment report, which economists project will show that the US added 130,000 private sector jobs in November, up from 113,000 in October.
The figures come ahead of the non-farm payrolls report on Friday and in the wake of a report showing a sharp fall in job vacancies on Tuesday.
Michael Hewson at CMC Markets said: ” We are starting see increasing evidence that the US jobs market is starting to slow, with vacancies falling to their lowest level since March 2021 and with the last two ADP reports adding a combined 202k new jobs as private sector hiring slows.
Elsewhere, the chief executives of the biggest US banks, including JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, will testify before Congress in a Senate hearing on the oversight of Wall Street firms.
Brown-Forman (NYSE:BF.B) and Campbell Soup will release their latest quarterly results before Wall Street’s opening bell, while Chewy and GameStop will report after the market closes.