US stocks fall on poor jobs data

NEW YORK: US stocks fell Wednesday following weak private-sector job growth numbers that were sharply below market expectations and fueled concerns about the government's upcoming May labor numbers.

After a four-session winning streak, the Dow Jones Industrial Average points dropped 37.46 points (0.30 percent) to 12,532.33 in the first five minutes of trade.

The broader S&P 500 index slid 3.61 points (0.27 percent) to 1,341.59, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 5.56 points (0.20 percent) at 2,829.74.

Wall Street stocks started the month of June with the bears in charge after payrolls firm ADP reported the nonfarm private sector added 38,000 jobs in May, well below the consensus estimate of 170,000. The April figure was revised upward to 177,000.

"This report should create a cautious tone ahead of the government's employment report on Friday, which is expected to show a 185,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.

The Labor Department is expected to report Friday that the May unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.0 percent from April.

"The jobs number this month will be weak. It could be zero or negative given the weak ADP and the risk of government layoffs," said Robert Brusca at FAO Economics.

The dampened sentiment followed strong rallies Tuesday spurred by rising hopes for another Greek debt bailout that eclipsed a weak batch of US economic data.

The Dow rose 1.03 percent, the S&P 500 1.06 percent and the Nasdaq 1.37 percent

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011