U.S. stocks lower after U.S. employment data; Dow Jones down 0.13%

Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, as the release of strong U.S. employment data added to expectations for the Federal Reserve to scale back its stimulus program before the year end.

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13%, the S&P 500 index slid 0.32%, while the Nasdaq Composite index edged down 0.08%.

Payroll processor ADP said the U.S. private sector added 188,000 jobs in June, more than expectations for an increase of 160,000.

Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor said of people who filed for unemployment assistance last week fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000, compared to expectations for a drop of 3,000 to 345,000.

Investors were looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, for further clues on when the Federal Reserve may decide to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals dropped 0.80% following reports Pfizer and Novartis may make preliminary bids for the company.

On Sunday, Onyx turned down a roughly USD10 billion offer from Amgen.

Adding to losses, Sprint Nextel saw shares slide 0.42% after SoftBank's USD21.6 billion bid for the mobile carrier won the support it needs from the last U.S. regulatory body reviewing the transaction.

Elsewhere, General Motors was down 0.38%, even after reporting strong sales last month.

In the same sector, Ford advanced 0.87% after saying the overall U.S. auto industry will report its best monthly sales rate since December 2007.

Also on the upside, Apple climbed 0.60%, amid news the iPhone maker iring Paul Deneve, the former chief executive officer of luxury group Yves St Laurent, to work on special projects for CEO Tim Cook.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply sower. The EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.64%, France’s CAC 40 declined 1.36%, Germany's DAX retreated 1.42%, while Britain's FTSE 100 plummeted 1.63%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dove 2.48%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid 0.39%.

Later in the day, the Institute of Supply Management was to produce a report on U.S. service sector activity.