The U.S. stock market ended mixed on Wednesday after a new employment report from the private sector indicated slowing job growth.
The blue-chip Dow Jones closed at 33,482.72, adding 80.34 points or 0.24 percent. The S&P 500 ended the trading session at 4,090.38, losing 10.22 points or 0.25 percent. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite finished at 11,996.86, declining by 129.47 points or 1.07 percent.
Bank stocks plunged on Wednesday, with the KBW Banks Index falling by almost 0.5 percent. Phoenix-based lender Western Alliance's shares dropped by more than 12 percent after it projected lower-than-anticipated first-quarter earnings.
Shares of software company C3.ai (AI) plummeted over 15 percent after Kerrisdale Capital, which held a short position in AI stock, alleged that AI had a slew of accounting irregularities. AI has denied the allegation.
Johnson & Johnson rose by 4.5 percent after the healthcare company increased its offer to settle cancer lawsuits linked to its baby powder. The company currently offers an $8.9 billion settlement to the 60,000 claimants.
Biopharmaceutical company InflaRx N.V. shares soared 61.80 percent after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the emergency use of its monoclonal antibody in the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
FedEx stock gained 1.5 percent after the delivery company announced it would merge its ground, freight and express operating entities into a single organization. Retail giant Walmart also saw a 1.5 percent increase in stock value after announcing its plan to automate 65 percent of its stores by 2026. The announcement came after it let go of hundreds of employees at its online fulfillment centers, saying the company would further slow its hiring process.
"Our March payroll data is one of several signals that the economy is slowing."
Nela Richardson, Chief Economist at ADP
On Wednesday, payroll processing firm ADP reported that private companies had added 145,000 jobs last month, lower than earlier estimates of 210,000. ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said the private payroll data showed that the U.S. economy was slowing down.
"Employers are pulling back from a year of strong hiring and pay growth, after a three-month plateau, is inching down," Richardson added.
In addition to the payroll data from the private sector, the Institute for Supply Management's services activity index declined to 51.2, lower than the earlier projection of 54.4.
London-based banking firm Barclays said that while the U.S. services sector performed resiliently in the past months, the new development shows that the Federal Reserve's rate hiking campaign has a more pronounced effect on the country's economy.
Analysts also said the recent banking turmoil might contribute to the decline of job growth in the private and services sectors, as many of these businesses had a tougher time obtaining loans due to tightening lending conditions.
Stocks in Asia-Pacific close lower
Stocks in Asia-Pacific generally traded lower on Thursday local time after Wall Street ended mixed. The MSCI Asia Pacific index closed 0.33 percent lower for the day.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 1.01 percent to conclude the session at 27,507.65. South Korean Kospi closed at 2,459.23, losing 1.44 percent. China's CSI 300 also traded 0.14 percent lower to 4,097.38. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong only rose slightly by 0.012 percent to 20,277.01.
The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia concluded the session lower at 7,214.90, down 0.31 percent. On the other hand, the S&P/NZX 50 in New Zealand closed 0.17 percent higher to 11,886.63