U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Lower Amid Ongoing Tariff Concerns

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session on Wednesday but have moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day. The major averages have all moved to the downside, extending the sharp pullback seen over the past several sessions.

The major averages have fallen to new lows for the session in recent trading. The Nasdaq is down 110.98 points or 0.6 percent at 18,174.19, the S&P 500 is down 28.68 points or 0.5 percent at 5,749.47 and the Dow is down 61.42 points or 0.1 percent at 42,459.57.

The weakness that has emerged on Wall Street reflects lingering concerns about the economic impact of President Donald Trump's new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

Traders have seemingly shrugged off comments from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Fox Business suggesting Trump will "probably" announce tariff compromise deals with Canada and Mexico.

Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to a report from payroll processor ADP showing much weaker than expected private sector job growth in the month of February.

ADP said private sector employment rose by 77,000 jobs in February after climbing by an upwardly revised 186,000 jobs in January.

Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 140,000 jobs compared to the addition of 183,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Private sector job growth slowed to the lowest level since last July, with trade and transportation, health care and education, and information showing job losses, ADP said.

"Policy uncertainty and a slowdown in consumer spending might have led to layoffs or a slowdown in hiring last month," said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson.

She added, "Our data, combined with other recent indicators, suggests a hiring hesitancy among employers as they assess the economic climate ahead."

Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management released a separate report showing an unexpected uptick by its reading on U.S. service sector activity in the month of February.

The ISM said its services PMI inched up to 53.5 in February from 52.8 in January, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 52.6.

Sector News

Oil producer stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Oil Index down by 3.2 percent to its lowest intraday level in over two months.

The sell-off by oil stocks comes amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil, with crude for April delivery plunging $2.69 to $65.57 a barrel.

Significant weakness is also visible among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index.

Utilities and banking stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while gold and airline stocks have shown strong moves to the upside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.5 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged by 2.8 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 3.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are extending the pullback seen over the course of the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.9 basis points at 4.229 percent.