Stocks Started Lower on ADP Data

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday as the ADP private-payrolls data missed forecasts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 44.27 points, or 0.33%, to 13,235.05. The S&P 500 declined 7.07 points, or 0.50%, to  1,398.75. The Nasdaq Composite shed 8.22 points, or 0.27%, to 3,042.22.

Hiring has slowed down, with private-employment gains in April the weakest in seven months, according to a report released Wednesday by payrolls-processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. Private-sector employment increased 119,000 in April, the lowest result since September, led by the service-providing sector and small and medium businesses, according to ADP

Comcast Corp., the country’s largest cable company, reported a 30 percent profit increase in the first quarter, beating expectations on the strength of  Bowl advertising and its popular broadband service. The Philadelphia-based cable company said Wednesday that its net income rose to $1.224 billion, or 45 cents per share, for the January to March period from $943 million, or 34 cents per share, a year ago.

A court in Mannheim ruled on Wednesday that Microsoft infringed Motorola Mobility’s patents and ordered Microsoft to remove its popular Xbox 360 gaming consoles and Windows 7 operating system software from the German market. However, Microsoft said that the ruling did not mean that its products would be taken off retailers’ shelves because a U.S. district court in Seattle has granted Microsoft a preliminary injunction against Motorola to prevent the phone maker from enforcing any German court order.

Time Warner Inc., (NYSE:TWX) the New York entertainment major, reported first-quarter net income fell 11% on 4.4% higher revenue and affirmed its outlook for the year. Profit was $583 million compared with $653 million in the year-earlier quarter. Earnings per share were 59 cents in both periods as shares outstanding fell 11% to 968.3 million. Adjusted earnings were 67 cents a share compared with 58 cents. Revenue reached $6.98 billion from $6.68 billion.

CBS Corp. (NYSE:CBS) said Tuesday that its first-quarter profit climbed 80%, driven by licensing fees from Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) , as well as increased advertising sales. The media conglomerate said it earned $363 million, or 54 cents a share, compared with a profit of  $202 million, or 29 cents, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 12% to $3.92 billion.

Record high unemployment for the 17 countries that use the euro is set to increase the pressure on Europe’s leaders to switch from a focus on austerity to a pro-growth strategy to stop the region from moving deeper into recession. Unemployment across the 17-member eurozone rose by 169,000 in March, official figures showed Wednesday, taking the rate up to 10.9 percent in March — its highest level since the euro was launched in 1999.