U.S. stocks fell modestly at Wednesday’s start after mixed data on the U.S.labor market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 37.08 points to 10,771.63. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 5.28 points to 1,118.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 19.30 points to 2,385.52.
Private-sector employers added 91,000 jobs in September, above economists’ expectations, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 75,000 jobs.
Angry and frustrated, Greek civil servants walked off the job Wednesday, paralyzing the government and public transport to protest ever-deeper austerity measures and seemingly ineffectual financial policies.
A big rescue operation looks imminent for Dexia SA after France’s finance minister indicated that a solution to save the Franco-Belgian bank could be announced as soon as Thursday.
Oil gained for the first day in four in New York after a surprise drop in U.S. crude stockpiles led investors to reduce bets that prices will decline. Crude for November delivery rose as much as $2.79 to $78.46 a barrel and was at $78.01 at 2:43 p.m. Singapore time.
Monsanto’s fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations. It had a net loss of $112 million, or 21 cents per share, for the quarter ended Aug. 31. Monsanto Co. said that adjusted for one-time items, the loss was 22 cents per share. Revenue amounted to $2.25 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected an adjusted loss of 27 cents per share on revenue of $1.91 billion.
Costco Wholesale Corp.’s fiscal fourth-quarter net income climbed 11 percent as the wholesale club operator made more money on membership fees and saw its sales rise. Costco’s net income rose to $478 million, or $1.08 per share, for the period ended Aug. 28. That’s up from $432 million, or 97 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet predicted earnings of $1.10 per share.
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