By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks lost ground Wednesday after a report showing employers made fewer hires in April than many on Wall Street expected, casting doubt on the strength of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report.
ADP Employer Services said companies added 119,000 workers last month, with the data released two days before the Labor Department report, which is projected to illustrate payrolls picked up in April. Read more on ADP.
“This report may foretell a disappointment in Friday’s important nonfarm employment report,” noted Fred Dickson, chief investment strategist at Davidson Cos. in emailed research.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -0.40% fell 45.98 points, or 0.3%, to 13,233.834.
The S&P 500 Index SPX -0.54% shed 7 points, or 0.5%, to 1,398.62, with energy falling hardest among its 10 major sectors.
The Nasdaq Composite COMP -0.22% declined 7.23 points, or 0.2%, to 3,043.21.
Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York.
