Investing.com - U.S. non-farm private employment unexpectedly rose in July, boosting optimism over the health of the labor market, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 179,000 last month, surpassing expectations for an increase of 170,000.
The economy created 176,000 jobs in June, whose figure was revised from a previously reported increase of 172,000.
While not viewed as a reliable guide for the government jobs report due on Friday, August 5, it does give guidance on private-sector hiring.
Immediately after the report, the dollar strengthened but still remained near six-week lows. EUR/USD was trading at 1.1191 from around 1.1202 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3325 from 1.3346 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 101.18 compared to 101.07 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.25, compared to 95.16 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures dropped 0.14%, the S&P 500 futures fell 0.13%, while Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.12%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,369.45 a troy ounce, compared to $1,372.65 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $39.77 a barrel from $39.80 earlier.