Major Averages Posting Slim Gains In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved modestly higher in early trading on Wednesday, adding to the strong gains posted in the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the upside, although buying interest has remained subdued.

The early strength on Wall Street largely reflects a positive reaction to a report from payroll processor ADP showing that private sector employment in the U.S. increased by much more than anticipated in the month of June.

ADP said employment in the private sector surged up by 281,000 jobs in June following an increase of 179,000 jobs in May. Economists had been expecting employment to climb by about 205,000 jobs.

While the data has generated some optimism about the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, traders seem reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the release of the report on Thursday.

Gold and steel stocks are seeing some strength in early trading, although weakness among airline and utilities stocks has helped to limit the upside for the markets.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering just above the unchanged line. The Dow is up 10.28 points or 0.1 percent at 16,966.35, the Nasdaq is up 2.50 points or 0.1 percent at 4,461.15 and the S&P 500 is up 0.21 points or less than 0.1 percent at 1,973.53.