Wall Street Live: S&P 500, Nasdaq rise, Dow Jones dips after weak private jobs data, Tesla jumps on Q2 sales

US stock indices were mixed on Wednesday after weak US private jobs data, while Tesla shares surged sharply after its second quarter sales report.

As of 12:30 PM Eastern time, the S&P 500 was up 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.8% higher.

As of 10:15 AM Eastern time, the S&P 500 was edging up by 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.5% higher.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 39.3 points, or 0.09%, to 44455.66. The S&P 500 fell 4.1 points, or 0.07%, to 6193.88​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 18.5 points, or 0.09%, to 20184.374.

ADP National Employment Report showed that US private jobs unexpectedly fell in June and job gains in May were smaller than initially thought.

“Though layoffs continue to be rare, a hesitancy to hire and a reluctance to replace departing workers led to job losses last month,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP.

The weaker-than-expected jobs data fuelled expectations that the US Federal Reserve may slash interest rates sooner than expected.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday reiterated that the central bank is taking a patient approach to further interest rate cuts.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.29% from 4.26%. The 2-year Treasury yield dipped to 3.76% from 3.78%.

Gainers and Losers

Tesla stock jumped 4.3% after the electric vehicle maker said it delivered nearly 374,000 of its Model 3 and Model Y cars in the second quarter.

Constellation Brands stock rose 2% despite reporting a weaker quarterly profit.

Centene shares tumbled 38.1% after the health care company withdrew its forecasts for annual profit.

Bullion

Gold prices rose on Wednesday on weak jobs data.

Spot gold was up 0.3% at $3,347.59 per ounce, as of 1246 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.3% to $3,358.10.

Spot silver rose 0.7% to $36.33 per ounce, platinum was up 1.9% to $1,375.91, while palladium gained 1.9% to $1,120.87.

Oil prices gained on Wednesday as traders turn their focus to the US stockpiles and OPEC meeting.

Brent crude was at $68 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose to $66.