Services data gains, trade deficit shrinks
by Ellie Ismailidou and Wallace Witkowski
Market Watch
U.S. stocks traded in the red Wednesday as weaker-than-expected private-sector jobs data and a slide in worker productivity eclipsed reports of strength in the services industry.
The S&P 500 SPX, -0.57% fell 13 points, or 0.7%, to 2,049, led by a sharp drop in the energy and industrials sectors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.54% declined 114 points, or 0.6%, to 17,637, weighed by a 2.6% decline in Caterpillar Inc. CAT, -2.76% and a 2.3% loss in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS, -1.96%
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.74% was down 39 points, or 0.8%, at 4,724.
The moves come a day after stocks fell to their lowest level in three weeks on Tuesday, as weaker-than-expected manufacturing data in China and a cut of interest rates in Australia revived worries about an overseas economic slowdown.