By Anora Mahmudova and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Private sector adds 212,000 jobs in February, ADP says
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks are slumping for a second consecutive session on Wednesday, as investors assessed a private-sector jobs report released ahead of the opening bell.
The Automatic Data Processing, Inc. report showed the private sector added 212,000 jobs in February, slightly below expectations.
The headline number came in below expectations; however, the January number was revised sharply upward.
While the ADP report is met with skepticism by some economists, who question its predictive ability, still, investors watch it to get a feeling for the official jobs report due on Friday.
The S&P 500 (SPX) saw broad-based declines across all 10 main sectors, which traded deep in the red. Out of 500 stocks in the index, less than 30 traded in the green. Alcoa led the declines, after being downgraded by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined by triple digits, with every single blue chip stock trading in negative territory.
The Nasdaq (RIXF) retreated further below the psychologically important 5,000 level reached on Monday.
John Canally, chief economic strategist at LPL Financial, said the fact that the labor market continued to add more than 200,000 jobs despite bad weather in the East Coast, port strikes in the West Coast and slashed capital spending in the energy industry, speaks to the strength of the economy.
"The headline number was below expectations, but with revisions for January, it was still a good report. Jobs numbers would have to be a lot weaker than that for the Fed to delay rate hikes this year," Canally said.
Data: Private-sector employment gains continued in February but at a slower pace than in the prior month. ADP reported employers added 212,000 jobs last month (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/private-sector-adds-212000-jobs-in-february-adp-2015-03-04-8912123), below January's revised gain of 250,000.
At 10 a.m. Eastern, the ISM nonmanufacturing data for February will be released. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect a slight pullback to 55.9%, from 56.7% in January.
Fed speakers: Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans, in a speech to a business group in suburban Chicago, said there is no reason to 'hurry' to raise rates, until the Fed has much greater confidence that inflation will rise to an annual target of 2%. Evans is a voting member of the FOMC this year.
Kansas City Fed President Esther George, who isn't a voting member of the Fed this year, will give a speech on the economy in Kansas City at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, also not a voting member, will reflect on 10 years at the Fed in El Paso, Texas at 7 p.m. Eastern.
The Fed's beige book is schedule at 2 p.m.