US stocks open down slightly after new jobs data

WASHINGTON: US stocks opened slightly lower Wednesday after a new report showed private sector jobs grew in February at a quicker pace than expected.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 9.46 points (0.08 percent) at 12,048.41, while the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.05 points (0.08 percent) to 1305.69.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.67 (0.02 percent) at 2,736.74.

Before the opening the private payrolls firm ADP reported a 15 percent increase in job creation from January -- to 217,000 jobs -- much better than the hiring slowdown expected by economists.

"Overall, this is a very strong report that indicates continued improvement in the labor market," said Nicholas Tenev of Barclays Capital Research.