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1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks extend gains following upbeat ADP report

Xinhua, March 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks ended higher Wednesday after wavering in a tight range, as Wall Street digested a better-than-expected ADP employment report ahead of Friday's key jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 34.24 points, or 0.20 percent, to 16,899.32. The S&P 500 increased 8.10 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,986.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 13.83 points, or 0.29 percent, to 4,703.42.

On the economic front, U.S. private sector employment increased, on a seasonally adjusted basis, by 214,000 jobs from January to February, well above market consensus of 185,000, according to the ADP National Employment Report released on Wednesday.

The ADP figure is followed closely as a pre-indicator for the non-farm payrolls report due Friday.

"That said, strength in service sector hiring will alleviate fears the February (jobs) report this Friday will disappoint," said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

Traders were also looking to the key monthly employment data and more hints on future monetary policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve's March meeting.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks posted solid gains, with all three major indices jumping over 2 percent, as Wall Street cheered over a batch of upbeat economic reports.

Overseas, Chinese shares prolonged Tuesday's rally and surged past the 2,800-point mark on Wednesday, led by real estate stocks. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 4.26 percent to close at 2,849.68 points.

European equities closed mostly higher Wednesday as oil kept rising. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange moved up 0.61 percent, while French benchmark index CAC 40 increased 0.41 percent. Endit