U.S. stocks open lower on soft data

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday after a softer-than-expected report on the labor market.

The Automatic Data Processing private payrolls report, which is considered a pre-indicator of Friday's labor market report from the U.S. Labor Department, showed a gain of 212,000 in February, below expectations.

Investors were shifting the focus back to the progress of the U.S. economy and the implications for monetary policy, as earning season is drawing to a close.

In a surprise move, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Wednesday cut the key policy rate by 25 basis points, triggering optimism of stimulating selling and buying of expensive commodities like cars and homes.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 95.07 points, or 0.52 percent, to 18,108.30. The S&P 500 fell 11.73 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,096.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 25.13 points, or 0.50 percent, to 4,954.77.

U.S. stocks pulled back Tuesday from record highs, as U.S. vehicle sales in February came in lackluster.

The market kicked off the month with a surge Monday, with the Nasdaq closing above the 5,000 level for the first time since March 2000, while both the Dow and the S&P 500 refreshing their record highs. Endit