Stocks Slide on Weak Early Jobs Data, Productivity Dip

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.

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