The S&P 500 rose 0.5% Wednesday, trying to halt a three-day losing streak, as weaker-than-expected ADP jobs data helped lift major indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.7% while testing its 50-day moving average, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.5% even as some large tech names traded mixed.
At lunchtime in New York, the Dow industrials climbed 0.7%, testing the 50-day moving average after closing below it a day earlier. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% and tried to snap a three-day losing streak, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite picked up 0.5%.
The move followed a private payrolls report from ADP that showed a gain of 38,000 jobs in August, missing estimates for a 48,000 increase and marking the slowest pace of job creation since January. According to Investor's Business Daily: "Pay can tell us a lot about today's choppy hiring." ADP chief economist Dr. Nela Richardson made the remark in the company's news release.
Stocks held their gains even as the 10-year Treasury yield was nominally higher at 4.80%, a day after rising to levels last seen in January 2025. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate futures rose 0.6% to $90.75, extending a Tuesday gain that pushed prices to their highest level since July.
The small-cap Russell 2000 index outpaced the blue chips, rebounding 0.9% after a three-day tumble that had knocked it down 3.1%. Broader market breadth stayed bullish, too: winners led losers by nearly 2-to-1 on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. Still, 272 stocks on both exchanges fell to 52-week or all-time lows against 103 issues hitting new highs, according to eTrade data.
Source: Investor's Business Daily
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