The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up a small early gain to trade slightly lower in early action as the market struggled for direction a day ahead of Friday’s August jobs report.
Earlier, ADP reported a weaker-than-expected rise in August private-sector payrolls, while weekly jobless claims data showed first-time applications for benefits fell back from the previous week and came in below expectations.
“After today’s mixed numbers, it’s up to tomorrow’s jobs report to give investors a clearer read on the state of the labor market,” said Chris Larkin, managing director for trading and investing at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley, in emailed comments.
“We’re in a ‘good news is good, and bad news is bad’ environment, and markets are still trying to figure out if the economy is slowing too much, and whether the Fed is behind the curve,” he wrote.