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* Jan. private-sector payroll rises more than expected
* U.S. services sector activity picks up in Jan -ISM
* Coty surges on profit, revenue beat
* Ford slumps after weak 2020 forecast
* Indexes up: Dow 0.98%, S&P 0.69%, Nasdaq 0.05%
(Changes quote, adds details, updates prices)
By Medha Singh
Feb 5 (Reuters) - Wall Street rallied for a third straight
day on Wednesday after a clutch of positive data painted a
stronger picture of the U.S. economy but the Nasdaq pulled back
from record levels as losses in Tesla shares weighed.
Private-sector payrolls increased by 291,000 in January, the
ADP National Employment Report showed, far above expectations of
156,000 job additions.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) data
showed U.S. services sector activity picked up last month
following an upbeat manufacturing report this week. "There is increasing recognition that the consumer is
remarkably resilient," said Elliott Savage, portfolio manager of
the YCG Enhanced Fund.
"Growth is still decent, and if you're looking around to put
your money, stock market is just a much more attractive place
than government bonds."
Wall Street has more than recovered last week's steep losses
after China's move to boost liquidity to limit the economic
impact of the virus outbreak eased some worries about growth.
The country's central bank is likely to lower its key rate
on Feb. 20, sources told Reuters, as the death toll from the
epidemic climbs to nearly 500.
Earlier in the day, stock index futures got a boost after a
report that a Zhejiang University team had found some drugs that
could inhibit the coronavirus in vitro cell experiments.
However, the World Health Organization played it down,
saying "there are no known effective therapeutics against this
2019-nCoV (virus)". At 11:45 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 281.97 points, or 0.98%, at 29,089.60, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 22.91 points, or 0.69%, at 3,320.50. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 4.55 points, or 0.05%, at 9,472.52.
Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, led by a 3.4%
gain in energy stocks .SPNY which tracked a jump in oil
prices.
The U.S. earnings season has reached the halfway mark and
corporate America has largely beaten Wall Street expectations.
Coty Inc COTY.N jumped 11.9% as the cosmetics maker beat
estimates for quarterly profit and revenue. Ford Motor Co F.N tumbled nearly 10% after the No. 2 U.S.
automaker delivered a weaker-than-expected 2020 forecast.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O dropped 14.1% after a six-day run that
saw its shares surge about 60%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.29-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 2.21-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 62 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 110 new highs and 18 new lows.