Stocks Opened Lower after ADP Report

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday as investors assessed a private-sector jobs report from ADP showed a less-than-expected increase in payrolls in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately dropped 143.81 points, or 0.79%, to 18,059.56. The S&P 500 lost 15.99 points, or 0.76%, to 2,091.79. The Nasdaq Composite was down 37.98 points, or 0.76%, to 4,941.92.

Private-sector job creation grew less than expected in February, as the services and goods-producing sectors both slowed from recent months, according to a report from ADP. Companies added 212,000 positions for the month, down from an upwardly revised 250,000 in January and the slowest pace since August 2014.

Eight of the biggest U.S. technology companies added a combined $69 billion to their stockpiled offshore profits over the past year, even as some corporations in other industries felt pressure to bring cash back home. Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., Google Inc. and five other tech firms now account for more than a fifth of the $2.10 trillion in profits that U.S. companies are holding overseas, according to a Bloomberg News review of the securities filings of 304 corporations.

U.S. crude-oil futures edged higher Wednesday. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April rose 26 cents, or 0.5%, $50.78 a barrel in the Globex electronic session.