Dow Jones Industrial Average grinds higher on Wednesday

The Dow Jones added another 200 points during calm Wednesday markets.
US ADP payroll figures point to net job gains that are better than expected.
US ISM PMI figures came in softer than expected, but investors are shrugging off the bad print.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) climbed 200 points on Wednesday, bolstered by a general improvement in market sentiment. Firmer-than-expected prints in jobs preview data ahead of Friday’s upcoming Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report helped to keep markets buoyed, adding to gains as investors recover from an early-week plunge sparked by trade war threats from US President Donald Trump that came up empty for a third time in a row.

The ADP Employment Change amount from January exceeded expectations, suggesting 183K net new jobs were added according to payroll services provider ADP. The figure came in above the revised print of 176K from December, flouting the median market forecast of 150K.

US ISM Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) survey results missed the mark, easing to 52.8 from a revised 54.0, flubbing the market’s expected uptick to 54.3. The softer figure dampened sentiment somewhat, but only briefly as traders look for reasons to hit the buy button.

Dow Jones news

Most of the Dow Jones is testing into the high side as broad-market sentiment generally improves. Familiar market favorites Amgen (AMGN) and Nvidia (NVDA) are climbing on Wednesday, gaining 5.5% and 4.5%, respectively. Amgen beat the street on Q4 financial results, reported late on Tuesday, and the biotech firm is trading back above $300 per share.

Dow Jones price forecast

The Dow Jones is grinding its way back toward 44,800, with price action drifting into the top-end after kicking the trading week off just south of the 44,000 major price handle. The Dow is set to snap its latest pullback with a three-straight bull run, and the immediate target for bidders will be the 45,000 handle that lies ahead.

Dow Jones daily chart

Economic Indicator

ADP Employment Change

The ADP Employment Change is a gauge of employment in the private sector released by the largest payroll processor in the US, Automatic Data Processing Inc. It measures the change in the number of people privately employed in the US. Generally speaking, a rise in the indicator has positive implications for consumer spending and is stimulative of economic growth. So a high reading is traditionally seen as bullish for the US Dollar (USD), while a low reading is seen as bearish.