US stocks rise after ADP private payrolls growth cools; rate cuts ahead?

Investing.com-- U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, as weak labor market data lifted hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to support growth this year.

At 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 85 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 climbed 18 points, or 0.3%, and NASDAQ Composite gained 120 points, or 0.7%.

Private payrolls disappoint in May

Private payrolls increased at a slower-than-anticipated rate in May, with companies adding 152,000 workers during the month, falling from a downwardly revised total of 188,000 in the prior month, according to figures from payrolls processor ADP (NASDAQ:ADP).

Economists had predicted a reading of 173,000.

The data comes a day after a separate report showed that job openings slipped to their lowest level in over three years in April.

These numbers point to a possible easing in labor demand in the world's largest economy, a trend that could fortify projections that the Federal Reserve will choose to slash interest rates later this year.

Traders will have a chance to further piece together the U.S. jobs picture on Friday, when the all-important monthly nonfarm payrolls report is scheduled to be released.

This reading followed weak purchasing managers index data from Monday and a downgraded gross domestic product print from last week.

There is now a roughly 65% chance the Fed will roll out a 25 basis-point reduction in September, according to CME's closely-watched FedWatch Tool. Last week, the probability was below 50%.

Expectations of eventual interest rate cuts offered some strength to Wall Street, although the prospect of a cooling U.S. economy kept gains limited.

Dollar Tree slips after spin-off report

In the corporate sector, Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) stock fell 1.5% following a report that the discount retailer plans to explore options that include a potential sale or spin-off of Family Dollar.

Software consultancy Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) surged 14% after it clocked strong quarterly earnings and presented an optimistic outlook on the back of artificial intelligence demand.

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) rose over 8% after it raised its annual guidance following stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings.

Crude stabilizes after recent losses

Crude prices stabilized Wednesday after recent losses with U.S. industry data pointing to a bumper build in U.S. inventories.

By 09:35 ET, U.S. crude futures (WTI) were 0.4% higher at $73.56 per barrel, while the Brent contract rose 0.5% to $77.89 a barrel.

Oil prices fell to a four-month low touched earlier in the week, after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, left open the possibility that voluntary cuts by eight of its members could be gradually unwound from October onward.

Additionally, the American Petroleum Institute reported that U.S. crude inventories saw a build of about 4 million barrels in the week to May 31. Gasoline and distillate inventories also registered increases, raising concerns around demand in the world’s biggest fuel consumer despite the start of the travel-heavy summer season.

The Energy Information Administration will release the official inventories data later in the session.

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)

This article first appeared in Investing.com