US stocks fall modestly after mediocre jobs report

US stocks fell on Wednesday in early trade after a report showed only modest private-sector jobs growth in February. About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 29.73 points (0.18 percent) to 16,366.15. The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 2.33 (0.12 percent) to 1,871.58, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 7.39 (0.17 percent) to 4,344.58. The pullback came after Wall Street stocks soared Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high, on signs of easing tensions over Ukraine and Russia. Payrolls firm ADP said US businesses added just 139,000 jobs in February, well below the monthly average of 186,000 over the last year and under the 150,000 expected by analysts. The ADP report was the latest bit of US economic data to show weakness, but at least some of the blame is being put on harsh winter storms that have repeatedly battered much of the country, depressing economic activity. Dow component ExxonMobil tumbled 2.0 percent after lowering its medium-term petroleum production forecast. The company projects 4.3 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2017, down from last year's forecast of 4.8 million barrels a day for 2017. Industrial heavyweight Honeywell announced that it expects 2018 sales to grow by $7-$12 billion from current levels and that it will continue to pursue strategic mergers and acquisitions. Shares gained 0.8 percent on the company’s five-year plan. Canadian Solar reported earnings of 39 cents per share, below analyst forecasts of 41 cents. The company’s projection of $415-430 million in sales for the upcoming quarter also fell well below the $512.95 million expected by the market. Shares dived 9.6 percent. Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.72 percent from 2.70 percent, while the 30-year held steady at 3.65 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely, according to AFP.