US open: Stocks mixed as traders digest ADP reading

dl wall street st new york city nyc nyse stock exchange ny dow jones nasdaq sp finance us usa united states of america — Wall StreetSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks were mixed early on Wednesday as market participants digested a number of data points.

As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.34% at 38,578.22, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.21% to 5,302.46 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.71% firmer at 16,976.70.

The Dow opened 133.07 points higher on Wednesday, almost reversing gains recorded in the previous session.

On the macro front for Wednesday, mortgage applications sank by 5.2% in the last week of May, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the three-month high decline of 5.7% from the previous week. The slump was principally due to ongoing concerns that mortgage rates could remain elevated for a prolonged time, with data from the survey showing that average rates remained above the 7% threshold for nearly two months. Applications to refinance a mortgage fell by 7%, while applications for the purchase of a new home fell by 4%.

Elsewhere, private sector employment in the US rose less than expected in May, according to figures released on Wednesday by ADP. Employment increased by 152,000 from April, versus expectations for a 173,000 jump. April's gain was revised from 192,000 to 188,000. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees shed 10,000 jobs, while medium businesses with between 50 and 499 employees added 79,000 jobs. Large businesses with more than 500 employees created an additional 98,000 jobs.

Still on data, services sector activity in the States picked up noticeably midway through the second quarter of 2024, the results of a survey revealed. S&P Global's final reading for its services sector purchasing managers' index for May was unchanged versus a preliminary reading at 54.8, but up from the preliminary print of 51.3.

Finally, the Institute of Supply Management's service PMI surged to 53.8 in May, the highest reading in nine months, and well above estimates for a print of 50.8. Economic activity in the services sector rebounded after contracting in April for the first time since December 2022, as business activity/production came in at 61.2, versus 50.9 a month earlier, and new orders rose from 52.2 to 54.1.

After today's data points, attention will turn to weekly jobless claims numbers from the Labor Department on Thursday and Friday's all-important May jobs report.

In the corporate space, Hewlett Packard was up double-digits after surpassing Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines, while cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike traded higher after reporting better-than-expected earnings and issuing strong guidance, and discount retailer Dollar Tree missed on estimates with its latest quarterly earnings and sales performances.

Still to come, sportswear maker Lululemon was slated to report earnings after the close on Wednesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.44 1.37%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $460.15 1.07%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $195.65 0.67%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $417.95 0.45%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $328.67 0.34%
3M Co. (MMM) $98.90 0.29%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $55.31 0.29%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $156.43 0.19%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $166.10 0.17%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.63 0.17%