Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, after the release of disappointing U.S. employment data amid growing uncertainty over the future of the Federal Reserve's stimulus program.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.32%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.23%, while the Nasdaq Composite index slipped 0.11%.
Payroll processor ADP said non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 135,000 in May, below expectations for an increase of 165,000.
The previous month’s figure was revised down to a gain of 113,000 from a previously reported increase of 119,000.
The data fuelled uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will scale back its asset purchase program this year.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as shares in Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan slid 0.27% and 0.28%, while Citigroup and Bank of America fell 0.20% and 0.15% respectively.
Bloomberg reported earlier that JP Morgan agreed to forgive USD842 million of debt owed to it by Jefferson County, Alabama, where it took the lead in arranging risky securities deals that pushed the county into the largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy.
Separately, Goldman Sachs accepted to lend USD500 million to Alibaba Group Holding as the company seeks USD8 billion of loans.
On the upside, American International Group surged 1.97% after Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche raised doubt about whether the company will complete a sale of its plane-leasing unit to a Chinese investor group by a deadline this month.
Elsewhere, Salesforce.com shares rallied 1.40% after the company said it will pay USD2.5 billion for marketing software maker ExactTarget.
Other stocks in focus included Brown-Forman and Hovnanian, due to report first quarter earnings.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.99%, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.05%, Germany's DAX retreated 0.82%, while Britain's FTSE 100 plummeted 1.57%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index retreated 0.97%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dove 3.83%.
The Institute of Supply Management was to release data on U.S. service sector activity later Wednesday.