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U.S. stocks open lower amid soft data

Xinhua, May 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened lower Wednesday as Wall Street assessed a batch of downbeat economic reports.

U.S. private sector employment increased by 156,000 jobs from March to April, well below market consensus of 193,000, the April ADP National Employment Report said Wednesday.

The ADP figure is watched closely as a pre-indicator for the highly-anticipated nonfarm payrolls report due Friday.

Meanwhile, U.S. nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased at a 1-percent annual rate during the first quarter of 2016, according to the Department of Labor.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced Wednesday that the goods and services deficit was 40.4 billion U.S. dollars in March, down 6.5 billion dollars from a revised reading of 47.0 billion dollars in February.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 67.39 points, or 0.38 percent, to 17,683.52. The S&P 500 lost 9.00 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,054.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 23.23 points, or 0.49 percent, to 4,740.00.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks ended sharply lower as investors digested quarterly earnings reports amid declining oil prices. Endi