NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks declined early Wednesday as markets digested solid private-sector hiring data and looked ahead to a key Federal Reserve decision.

US firms added 239,000 jobs in October, according to payroll firm ADP, which was above expectations and comes as investors have been hoping for signs of a slowing US economy that could lead the Fed to moderate its aggressive stance towards combatting inflation.

The US central bank is expected to again lift interest rates by 0.75 percentage point later Wednesday, but investors would like Fed Chair Jerome Powell to signal a smaller hike at next month’s meeting.

US stocks rebound amid improving sentiment for equities

About 25 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 percent at 32,507.91.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.5 percent to 3,838.41, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.4 percent to 10,847.99.

Among individual companies, CVS Health rose 3.6 percent after reporting better-than-expected earnings and announcing an agreement to pay $5 billion to settle opioid claims.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, which announced a similar agreement, rose 1.4 percent.