US markets end mostly in red on Wednesday

06 Apr 2023 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday with Nasdaq settling over one percent cut. Concerns about the economic outlook weighed on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 following the release of disappointing data. Payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment increased by less than expected in the month of March. ADP said private sector employment rose by 145,000 jobs in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 261,000 jobs in February. Street had expected private sector employment to advance by 200,000 jobs compared to the addition of 242,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. Meanwhile, a separate report released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed growth in U.S. service sector activity slowed by much more than expected in the month of March.

The ISM said its services PMI slid to 51.2 in March from 55.1 in February. While a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the sector, street had expected the index to show a much more modest decrease to 54.5. On the economic data front, brokerage stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index down by 1.9 percent. Considerable weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent drop by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The semiconductor index continued to give back ground after ending last Friday's trading at its best closing level in almost a year.

Nasdaq fell 129.46 points or 1.07 percent to 11,996.86 and S&P 500 was down by 10.22 points or 0.25 percent to 4,090.38, while Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 80.34 points or 0.24 percent to 33,482.72

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