Off the wire
• U.S. labor productivity continues to fall in Q1  • Lithuania to strengthen its land forces  • Iran wants share in global crude oil market  • Insurgents kill, burn couple in restive Thai province  • UNESCO-listed Buddhist statue restored in SW China  • Beijing extends barbecue ban to suburbs  • Iraqi forces repel IS attack in Salahudin province  • DPRK-China traditional friendship promotes bilateral ties: DPRK official  • French stock market index up 0.15 pct on Wednesday  • Indian president to attend Victory Day celebrations in Moscow  
You are here: 　 Home

U.S. stocks retreat further after sharp declines

Xinhua, May 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks traded lower in the morning session on Wednesday, as investor sentiment was dampened by the weaker-than-expected U.S. private jobs data.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68.93 points, or 0.38 percent, to 17,859.27. The S&P 500 decreased 6.24 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,083.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 14. 52 points, or 0.29 percent, to 4,924.81.

U.S. private sector employment increased by 169,000 jobs in April compared with the previous month, well below market expectations, according to the April ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday.

"The oil states are experiencing a significant growth slowdown, just as happened the last time oil prices fell so far so fast. Add a much stronger dollar, reminiscent of 1986, and manufacturing is being pinched along with mining. The mining retrenchment should pretty much run its course by the end of the first half. Until then, both economic and job growth are likely to be slower than the Fed would like," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

Energy stocks were boosted as crude prices extended gains to fresh 2015 highs, after a government inventory report showed that U.S. crude output dropped last week for the first time since January.

In corporate news, LendingClub Corp spiked 4.55 percent around midday Wednesday after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results. The online lending company announced its operating revenue in the first quarter of 2015 was 81.0 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 109 percent year-over-year.

U.S. stocks suffered big losses on Tuesday as investors pondered over impacts of global market sell-offs. Endite