NEW YORK — U.S. and global stock indexes moved lower a second day Wednesday after a dismal report on job creation that gave investors concern over the state of the economy.
The data followed a round of economic news out of China and Europe a day earlier that also suggested sluggish growth.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 99.65 points, or 0.56 percent, to 17,651.26. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 12.25 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,051.12 and the Nasdaq composite fell 37.58 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,725.64.
Stocks started lower and remained there throughout the day, following a survey by payroll processor ADP that showed U.S. companies hired workers at the slowest pace in three years last month.
ADP said private companies hired 156,000 workers in April, down from 194,000 in March. The figure was significantly worse than expected. The weak reading bodes poorly for the broader job market survey due out Friday from the Labor Department, which is one of the most closely watched reports on the economic calendar.
Economists expect the government to report that U.S. employers created 200,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate remained steady at 5 percent.
Other economic indicators out of Europe were disappointing Wednesday. Retail sales fell 0.5 percent during March from the previous month. Investors had expected a more modest decline of 0.1 percent.
Financial information company Markit said its purchasing managers’ index for the region, a gauge of business activity, slipped to 53 in April from 53.1 the previous month. Although still above the 50 threshold indicating expansion, the reading has fallen from the start of the year.
While stocks are well off the lows they hit in February, investors remain reluctant to make heavy bets back into the stock market. The S&P 500 has bounced off the 2,100-point mark several times in the past six months, as recently as last week. That means investors feel stocks are too expensive to make big bets and are waiting to see more positive data or earnings, traders say.
“We’ve run out of gas here. … We are going to need some sort of catalyst to move this market higher, but I don’t know what that catalyst might be. Earnings have been OK, but not strong enough to say it’s time to buy,” said Rob Bernstone, a managing director in equity trading at Credit Suisse.
Benchmark U.S. crude added 13 cents to close at $43.78 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 35 cents to close at $44.62 a barrel in London.
