U.S. markets turn higher Wednesday

Posted on Oct 3, 2012 in Business | 0 comments

U.S. stock markets moved higher Wednesday as investors sorted through a slew of economic reports.

Reports from China showed business activity growing in September, but at a slower pace than in August.

In Europe, the Purchasing Manager”s Index for the service sector came to 46.1 in September, a small improvement from August but still showing contraction, as numbers below 50 indicate business activity slowing down.

On the domestic front, Automatic Data Processing Inc. said 162,000 private sector jobs were added to the U.S. economy in September, a smaller job gain than August. ADP said 189,000 jobs were added in August, 12,000 fewer than initially announced.

In early afternoon trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was off earlier highs, dropping 4.32 or 0.03 percent to 13,478.04. The Nasdaq composite index added 7.67 points or 0.25 percent to 3,127.71. The Standard & Poor”s 500 index gained 2.49 points or 0.17 percent to 1,448.24.

The benchmark 10-year treasury note was flat to yield 1.625 percent.

The euro fell to $1.2902 from Tuesday”s $1.2919. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 78.5 yen from 78.18 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.45 percent, 39.18, to 8,746.87.

In London, the FTSE 100 index added 0.28 percent, 16.36 points, to 5,825.81.

Copyright 2012 by United Press International