Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened mixed on Wednesday, after the release of disappointing U.S. employment data, while investors awaited a report on service sector activity in the U.S.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.31%, the S&P 500 index inched up 0.03%, while the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 0.40%.
Data showed that ADP nonfarm payrolls in the U.S. rose by a seasonally adjusted 118,000 in November, below expectations for an increase of 125,000.
The previous month’s figure was revised down to a gain of 157,000 from a previously reported increase of 158,000.
But sentiment remained supported after Greece launched a scheme to buy back debt from private investors on Monday, as part of an agreement to reduce its debt load and unlock a new bailout package worth EUR44 billion.
Meanwhile, investors continued to watch negotiations between Democrats and Republicans to avoid the U.S. fiscal cliff, a set of spending cuts and tax increases due to come into effect on January 1 if lawmakers cannot reach an agreement on reducing the budget deficit.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as shares in JP Morgan climbed 0.49% and Goldman Sachs advanced 0.81%, while Bank of America and Citigroup rallied 2.22% and 3.91%.
Citigroup announced earlier that it will cut 11,000 jobs as part of restructuring actions in an aim to further lower expenses and improve efficiency. The bank also said its fourth quarter pre-tax charges will total approximately USD1 billion and projected annual expense savings will exceed USD1.1 billion starting in 2014.
Oil and gas giant Chevron added to gains, with shares rising 0.60% after Repsol filed a U.S. lawsuit to block the company's deal with Argentina's YPF, ramping up the Spanish oil company's legal response to the loss of its assets in Argentina.
On the downside, Altera tumbled 1.37%, as the programmable chipmaker trimmed its fourth-quarter revenue expectation citing fewer orders for its older products.
Elsewhere, Pandora Media dove 12.86%, after the company lowered its fourth-quarter guidance, blaming a pull-back by advertisers on concerns about the U.S. budget.
In the same sector, Walt Disney was up 0.63% after giving a much needed boost to Netflix, becoming the first major Hollywood studio to use the video service to bypass premium channels like HBO that traditionally controlled the delivery of movies to TV subscribers. Shares in Netflix were still down 2% after the news.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 inched up 0.01%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.24%, Germany's DAX added 0.17%, while Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.30%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2.16%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.39%.
Later in the day, the Institute of Supply Management was to produce a report on service sector activity.