Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened steady on Wednesday, after the release of positive U.S. jobs data, while investors eyed a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the day.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 edged up 0.04%, the S&P 500 inched 0.04% higher, while the NASDAQ Composite added 0.13%.
The latest ADP nonfarm payrolls report showed that the U.S private sector added 281,000 jobs last month, outstripping expectations for an increase of 200,000 and the highest since November 2012.
The upbeat data eased concerns over the outlook for the U.S. recovery after data last week showing a sharp economic contraction in the first quarter underlined the view that the Federal Reserve would keep rates on hold for longer.
Investors were now awaiting the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, due to be released one day early on Thursday ahead of the Independence Day holiday, for further indications on the strength of the economic recovery.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) rose 0.29%, even as the social media giant was being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office in the U.K. after a study showed a psychological experiment influenced what users saw in their news feeds, raising fresh privacy concerns.
Also among Internet-related companies, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) gained 0.37% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the video-subscription service to "buy" from "neutral".
General Motors (NYSE:GM) edged up 0.08% as customers demanding compensation for the eroded value of recalled Cobalts and Ions were scheduled to hear on Wednesday how their lawyers plan to fight for the right to sue the carmaker.
On the downside, GoPro (NASDAQ:XX24SPARE30) plunged 6.17% after soaring over 20% on Tuesday, ending four straight sessions of sharp gains after the sports-video maker's initial public offering last week.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mostly lower. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 slid 0.36%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.52%, Germany's DAX dipped 0.01%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.13%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.55%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.29%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on factory orders.