US stocks mixed as investors assess data, Microsoft falls

Stocks on Wall Street were mixed early Wednesday as markets weighed disappointing workforce data against expectations for lower interest rates from the Federal Reserve.According to payroll company ADP, the US private sector lost 32,000 jobs in November. Analysts had expected an increase of 20,000 jobs, according to Briefing.com.

“There’s no way to portray that as good news, unless of course you’re a stock trader more focused on the likelihood of Fed cuts than on what it says about the economy,” said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 percent at 47,578.40.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent to 6,822.98, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.4 percent to 23,313.56.

Sosnick said the ADP numbers could become more important to the Fed in light of the lack of new labor market data due to a prolonged government shutdown.

The US central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates next week.

Among individual companies, Delta Air Lines rose 2.4 percent as the company said travel demand remains healthy after a temporary weakening due to the government shutdown.

The airline said it expects a $200 million hit from the close of fourth-quarter results.