Off the wire
• Urgent: F-16 fighter jet crashes near Washington D.C, pilot ejected safely: media report  • Kenya risks missing at sitting volleyball qualifiers due to lack of funds  • Slovenia sees unemployment drop in March  • Egypt condemns deadly attacks in Syria's Idlib  • Kenya seeks to turn tide in quest for success at Hong Kong Sevens  • Norway's security service advises preparation for IS-indoctrinated children  • Spanish police arrest 19-year-old girl for suspected Jihadism  • Result of CBA finals  • 1st LD-Writethru: China pledges continued reform to boost development, employment  • Iran condemns use of chemical weapons in Syria conflicts  
You are here: 　 Home

U.S. stocks open higher

Xinhua, April 5, 2017 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, as investors mainly digested the newly-released jobs data.

U.S. private sector employment increased by 263,000 jobs from February to March, on a seasonally adjusted basis and well above the market consensus of 185,000, according to the March ADP National Employment Report released on Wednesday.

The ADP figure is widely seen as a pre-indicator for the nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday. Analysts said the nonfarm jobs might also be better than expected.

Meanwhile, traders will also keep a close eye on the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve later Wednesday.

"The FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) minutes from the March meeting will be released later today, which could provide more discussion points on Fed thinking for future rate hikes and unwinding the balance sheet," Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial, said in a note.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 88.52 points, or 0.43 percent, to 20,777.76. The S&P 500 rose 7.37 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,367.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 13.99 points, or 0.24 percent, to 5,912.60.

U.S. stocks ended slightly higher after wavering between small gains and losses on Tuesday, as investors pondered over a string of economic reports. Endi