US stocks dipped on Wednesday, in the wake of a two-day rally for the S&P 500, as oil prices declined and labour market data disappointed. The ADP National Employment Report showed private employers added 213,000 jobs in January, short of the 225,000 estimate. Oil prices declined after a four-day surge of nearly 20 percent as a new build in US crude stockpiles put a global glut back in focus.
US crude was down 5.1 percent to $50.37 and Brent was off 3.6 percent to $55.83. The S&P energy index lost 1.4 percent. "We've had an enormous rally in oil the past couple of days. Today it's down, so that definitely seems to be it," said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.
Merck shares lost 4 percent to $58.57 as the biggest drag on the Dow after the drugmaker reported slightly disappointing fourth quarter sales and predicted 2015 earnings below analyst forecasts. But Disney helped keep the Dow in positive territory, up 7.2 percent to $100.88 after quarterly profit topped Wall Street's estimates. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 28.39 points, or 0.16 percent, to 17,694.79, the S&P 500 lost 4.42 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,045.61 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 14.85 points, or 0.31 percent, to 4,712.89.