Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened mixed on Wednesday, despite the release of data showing that the U.S. private sector added less jobs than expected last month, although comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen still lent some support.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 edged down 0.12%, the S&P 500 eased 0.03%, while the Nasdaq rose 0.30%.
Payroll processing firm ADP reported that the U.S. private sector added 191,000 jobs last month, slightly below expectations for jobs growth of 195,000.
February’s figure was revised up to a gain of 178,000 from a previously reported increase of 139,000.
Meanwhile, equitiy markets remained supported after Fed Chair Yellen on Monday said that "considerable slack" still remained in the labor market and reiterated that the Fed’s commitment to economic stimulus will still be needed for some time.
In the tech sector, BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) slipped 0.12% after daying that it will not renew its contract with T-Mobile US when it expires later this month, following a disagreement over the U.S. wireless carrier’s promotion of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s iPhones.
Adding to losses, Ford Motor (NYSE:F) dropped 0.70% as the automaker said its Russian joint venture will be cutting about 950 jobs at two factories in response to the falling ruble and deteriorating demand in the country.
In the same sector, General Motors (NYSE:GM) gained 0.46% as CEO Mary Barra was preparing for a second day of testimony on Capitol Hill on the company's ignition switch recall.
Elsewhere, Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) was up 3.02%, after surging over 12% on Tuesday when the FDA granted marketing clearance for the company's da Vinci Xi Surgical System, a surgical platform designed to enable complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach.
In earnings news, Monsanto (NYSE:MON) posted better-than-expected earnings, but shares in the seed company still declined 0.37%.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), up 0.58%, as the online retailer was scheduled to hold a news conference on Wednesday, where it was widely expected to unveil an update to its video business.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were steady to higher. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 inched up 0.05%, France’s CAC 40 edged 0.05% higher, Germany's DAX rose 0.13%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.08%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.34%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.04%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on factory orders.