Forexpros – U.S. shares closed mixed Wednesday as weak job data gave profit takers a reason to sell after Tuesday four year high..
At the close of U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 0.08%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.25%, while the Nasdaq Composite eased higher by 0.30%.
Igniting the risk off trade, U.S. payroll processing firm ADP reported non-farm employment increased by 119,000 in April, missing forecasts, after a 201,000 rise the previous month. Economists expected non-farm employment to rise by 178,000 in April.
In additional bearish news Wednesday, a government report indicated that factory orders in the U.S. declined 1.5% in March, in line with expectations and following a 1.1% rise the previous month.
Single currency sentiment weakened after final euro zone manufacturing data for April came in weaker-than-expected, with the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index slumping to a 34-month low of 45.9 in April, down from 47.7 in March and below the preliminary estimate of 46.0.
German manufacturing output dropped at the fastest rate since July 2009, with its manufacturing PMI tumbling to 46.2, from 48.4 in March, while a separate report showed that the German unemployment rate also increased last month.
Another economic report signaled that the unemployment rate in the euro zone climbed to a fresh record high of 10.9% in March.
In Italy, official data showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 9.8% for March, the highest level since the current index began in 2004, from 9.3% the previous month.
Meanwhile, investors remained nervous ahead of the ECB’s policy meeting on Thursday as well as weekend elections in Greece and France.
Chesapeake Energy Corp shocked the market by reporting an unexpected loss and stating it may run out of money next year due to sharply lower natural gas prices, shares plunged 14%
Bankrate, an online publisher of personal finance information sank 14% after missing first quarter estimates.
OpenTable gave back 15% after the reservation service forecasted revenue missing analysts estimates.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 closed down 0.71%, France’s CAC 40 traded higher by 0.42% and Germany’s DAX dropped 0.75%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 plunged 0.93%.
Traders are awaiting the European central bank’s interest rate decision and press conference, as well as U.S. ISM numbers on Thursday.
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