The US markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday, after moving sharply higher over the course of the two previous sessions. A positive reaction to the latest earnings news contributed to initial strength on markets, with Google parent Alphabet helping to lead the way higher. Shares of Alphabet surged up by 7.3 percent after the tech giant reported fourth quarter results that exceeded street estimate on both the top and bottom lines. On the other hand, online retail giant Amazon turned lower over the course of the session despite reporting better than expected fourth quarter results. Amazon also announced CEO Jeff Bezos will transition to the role of Executive Chair in the third quarter of 2021, with Amazon Web Services chief Andy Jassy set to become CEO at that time. A notable decline by shares of Amgen weighed on the Dow after the biotechnology company reported fourth quarter results that beat estimates but provided disappointing guidance.
On the economic data front, payroll processor ADP released a report showing a much stronger than expected rebound in private sector employment in the month of January. ADP said private sector employment jumped by 174,000 jobs in January after decreasing by a revised 78,000 jobs in December. Street had expected employment to rise by 49,000 jobs compared to the loss of 123,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. A separate report released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed US service sector activity unexpectedly grew at an accelerated rate in the month of January. The ISM said its services PMI inched up to 58.7 in January from a revised 57.7 in December, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the service sector. The uptick came as surprise to participants, who had expected the index to edge down to 56.8 from the 57.2 originally reported for the previous month.
Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 36.12 points or 0.12 percent to 30,723.6 and S&P 500 was up by 3.86 points or 0.1 percent to 3,830.17, while Nasdaq lost 2.23 points or 0.02 percent to 13,610.54.
