US stocks edge up on tech optimism as private sector hiring rebounds

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks inched up early Wednesday, as investors eyed technology announcements at a major industry show while private sector employment bounced back in December according to fresh data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average crept up 0.1 percent to 49,484.56, as did the broad-based S&P 500 Index to 6,953.31.

The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.2 percent to 23,597.92 shortly after trading began.

“The drivers really are the same today as they were for the last two days, coming into the first full week of trading with some positive vibes,” said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.

“There is a lot of reignited excitement about technology coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show, with each company talking about their plans for the future,” Hogan added, referring to the event in Las Vegas.

Read more: Tech, healthcare extend Wall St rally, Dow at record high

Markets on Wednesday also digested employment data for the US private sector, with payroll firm ADP reporting that hiring was up by 41,000 jobs in December.

This was slightly below a consensus forecast but still signaled a bounceback from November’s job losses.

With the ADP number showing improvement and missing expectations just slightly, Wall Street was sanguine, said Hogan.

Investors are likely looking instead towards a government payrolls report due Friday, for a better gauge of how the jobs market is doing.

“This will be the first on-time jobs report in three months,” Hogan said, following a record-long government shutdown late last year.

Oil prices were down slightly, after President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Venezuela would hand over tens of millions of barrels of oil to the United States – days after a US raid toppled the country’s leader.