US markets end mostly lower on Wednesday

05 Aug 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday on renewed concerns about the pace of US economic growth after payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment increased by much less than expected in the month of July. ADP said private sector employment rose by 330,000 jobs in July after surging by a downwardly revised 680,000 jobs in June. Street had expected private sector employment to spike by 695,000 jobs compared to the jump of 692,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. Besides, a steep drop by shares of General Motors (GM) also weighed on Markets, with the auto giant plunging by 8.9 percent to a five-month closing low. The decline by GM came after the company reported second quarter earnings missed street estimates, although the automaker still raised its full-year guidance.

However, the negative sentiment was partly offset by a report from the Institute for Supply management (ISM) showing growth in US service sector activity accelerated much more than expected in July. The ISM said its services PMI jumped to an all-time high of 64.1 in July after pulling back to 60.1 in June, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. Street had expected the index to inch up to 60.4. The bigger than expected increase by the headline index came as the business activity index surged up to 67.0 in July from 60.4 in June. The new orders index also climbed to 63.7 in July from 62.1 in June, while the employment index rebounded to 53.8 in July from 49.3 in June.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 323.73 points or 0.92 percent to 34,792.67 and S&P 500 was down by 20.49 points or 0.46 percent to 4,402.66, while Nasdaq gained 19.24 points or 0.13 percent to 14,780.53. 

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×