US markets closed mostly lower on disappointing jobs report

The US markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday, on reports that private sector added lesser than expected jobs in April and unemployment in Europe surged to a record high in fifteen years. In US hiring has slowed down, with private-employment gains in April the weakest in seven months, according to a report released by payrolls-processor Automatic Data Processing Inc.  ADP Employer Services stated, companies added 119,000 workers last month, with the data released two days before the Labor Department report, which is projected to illustrate payrolls picked up in April. The Labor Department report includes both private-and public-sector payrolls. Another economic report had US factory orders falling 1.5% in March following a revised 1.1% rise the month before. The March decline came amid declining demand for aircraft. 

Besides, jobless rate rose in the euro area and Italy in March and manufacturing activity declined in the euro-zone in April. Hungarian industrial producer price index rose from a year ago in March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 10.75 points, or 0.08 percent, at 13,268.60. The S&P 500 lost 3.51 points, or 0.25 percent, at 1,402.31, while the Nasdaq was up by 9.41 points, or 0.31 percent, at 3,059.85.

Indian ADRs closed mostly in red on Wednesday; Tata Motors was down 1.22%, ICICI Bank was down 0.64% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.46%. On the flip side, Infosys Technologies was up 0.24% and MTNL was up 0.01%.