NEW YORK — Reassuring signs on employment and growth in the service industry got the stock market back on an upward trajectory Wednesday.
Major indexes rose after payroll company ADP said private employers increased hiring last month and a service-sector index rose unexpectedly in July. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 44 points.
Investors were relieved that the two reports provided no signs that the economy might be headed back into recession, even though growth might be sluggish. Traders have grappled with earnings and economic reports at odds with each other in recent weeks that provide a mixed picture about the pace of the recovery.
The latest batch of earnings was largely better than expected, continuing a trend that has been seen over the past four weeks.
Broadcaster CBS Corp., video- game maker Electronic Arts Inc., online travel site Inc. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. all climbed. Whole Foods Market Inc. was one of the few to report disappointing results.
The market has been mainly climbing over the past month on encouraging earnings and corporate profit forecasts. The Dow has gained 10.3 percent since closing at its lowest level of the year on July 2.
Despite the upbeat earnings and better-than-expected economic reports, many investors remain tentative ahead of the Labor Department’s monthly employment report due on Friday. Quincy Krosby, Prudential Financial’s market strategist, said the market needs much more than one positive report on private-sector employment to gain confidence that the pace of recovery will speed up.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 44.05, or 0.4 percent, to 10,680.43. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 6.78, or 0.6 percent, to 1,127.24, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 20.05, or 0.9 percent, to 2,303.57.
