US open: Dow declines 70 points after disappointing ADP report

US stocks fluctuated early on Wednesday, after a disappointing ADP employment report.

Just after 15:00 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 70 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were up by five and 13 points respectively.

Private sector payrolls in the US hit their lowest level since January 2014 in April, falling to 169,000, well short of the 200,000 reading analysts had estimated.

March’s tally, which had previously been estimated at 189,000, was revised downward to 175,000.

“The frequent revisions to and relatively short history of the ADP employment series limit the weight we put on the series,” Barclays analysts said in a note.

“On balance, however, this morning’s report highlights downside risks to our forecast of a 245k increase in private sector payrolls in Friday’s employment report.”

US non-farm labour productivity fell by 1.9% in annualised terms during the first quarter after a 2.1% drop over the previous three months, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS).

The consensus forecast had been for a fall of 1.9%.

Investors will switch to Federal Reserve speakers in the afternoon, with Kansas City Fed President Esther George, a non-voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, set to appear at a conference in Washington at 18:15 BST.

Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart will give a speech to the Baton Rouge Rotary Club in Louisiana at 18:30 BST.

In corporate news, nutrition-supplement maker Herbalife jumped 16.6% after it lifted its annual outlook late on Tuesday, after earnings rose 4.8% in the first quarter, exceeding expectations.

New York-listed shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev climbed 2.3%, after the drinks giant said a derivatives gain boosted its first quarter profit.

US-listed shares of Nokia Corp climbed 1.7% after reports emerged linking a consortium of German car makers with a bid for the majority stake in Nokia’s here mapping unit.

Videogame maker Electronic Arts jumped 5.5% after its fourth quarter profit and sales beat expectations

Clothing and accessories chain Fossil Group plunged 6.4% despite posting better-than-expected results late on Tuesday, while Groupon declined 3.9% despite its first quarter loss shrank 62.1% to $14.3m.

The earnings season continues with 21st Century Fox, Tesla Motors, Wholefoods and MetLife reporting after the closing bell.

Oil prices rebounded, with both West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude climbing 2.3% to $61.83 and $69.10 a barrel respectively.

Gold futures edged higher 0.09% to $1,194.30, while the dollar lost 0.33% against the yen, 0.47% against the pound and over 1% against the euro.