(RTTNews) - While the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are extending the pullback seen in the previous session in morning trading on Wednesday, the narrower Dow has shown a modest move to the upside.
The Dow is currently off its best levels of the day but still up 59.42 points or 0.2 percent at 33,416.80. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq is down 135.35 points or 1.1 percent at 11,990.98 and the S&P 500 is down 15.21 points or 0.4 percent at 4,085.39.
The uptick by the Dow is partly due to a strong gain by shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), with the healthcare giant surging by 3.4 percent.
The jump by J&J comes after the company announced it has agreed to pay $8.9 billion over 25 years to settle claims that the talc in its baby powder and other products caused cancer.
Other healthcare-related Dow components like UnitedHealth (UNH), Merck (MRK) and Amgen (AMGN) are also posting notable gains.
Meanwhile, the extended pullbacks by the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 partly reflects concerns about the economic outlook following the release of disappointing data.
Payroll processor ADP released a report before the start of trading 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.
Economists 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.
"Our March payroll data is one of several signals that the economy is slowing," said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. "Employers are pulling back from a year of strong hiring and pay growth, after a three-month plateau, is inching down."
A separate report released by the Institute for Supply Management 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, economists had expected the index to show a much more modest decrease to 54.5.
Sector News
Semiconductor stocks have moved sharply lower in morning trading, extending the pullback seen over the two previous sessions.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is down by 2.3 percent, continuing to give back ground after ending last Friday's trading at its best closing level in almost a year.
Considerable weakness is also visible among brokerage stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index.
Airline, retail and software stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while utilities stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, driving the Dow Jones Utility Average up by 1.8 percent to its best intraday level in well over a month.
The jump by shares of Johnson & Johnson is also contributing to strength in the pharmaceutical sector, with the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index climbing by 1.6 percent to a more than two-month intraday high.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday, with markets in mainland China and Hong Kong closed for a holiday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.7 percent, while South Korea's Kospi climbed by 0.6 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.4 basis points at 3.303 percent.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
