US Stocks end mixed

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 58.06 points, or 0.18%, to 32,798.4. The S&P500 index was up 5.64 points, or 0.14%, to 3,992.01. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index increased 45.67 points, or 0.4%, to 11,576.

Total 7 of 11 sectors ended higher along with the S&P500 Index. Real estate was top performing sector, gaining 1.32%, followed by information technology (up 0.84%) and utilities (up 0.8%), while energy was worst performing sector, falling 1.02%, followed by healthcare (down 0.56%).

ECONOMIC NEWS: A report released by payroll processor ADP on Wednesday showed private sector employment in the U.

S. increased by 242,000 jobs in February after climbing by an upwardly revised 119,000 jobs in January. Meanwhile, the report said annual wage growth for those remaining in their jobs slowed to 7.2 percent in February and annual wage growth for job changers also decelerated to 14.3 percent in February from 14.9 percent in January.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed job openings in the U. S. fell to 10.8 million in January from 11.2 million in December. That equates to 1.9 job openings per available worker, or a gap of 5.13 million.

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