US STOCKS-Wall Street slips as monthly private payrolls disappoint

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* Pfizer, BioNTech rise on getting UK approval for vaccine
* Salesforce drops on $27.7 bln deal to buy Slack
Technologies
* NetApp gains on upbeat profit forecast
* Dow and S&P shed 0.4% each, Nasdaq down 1.1%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Susan Mathew
Dec 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street fell on Wednesday, with the
S&P 500 and the Nasdaq retreating from the record levels hit in
the previous session as fewer-than-expected private job
additions in November added to concerns about the near-term
pressure on the economy.
The biggest drag on the blue-chip Dow was a near 10% drop in
Salesforce.com Inc CRM.N after it agreed to buy workplace
messaging app Slack Technologies Inc WORK.N in a $27.7 billion
deal as it bets on an extended run for remote working.
The private jobs data is the latest sign that soaring new
infections and business restrictions were hampering the labor
market's recovery. The more crucial employment report is
expected on Friday. "It reminds investors that we do have some tough times
ahead before we get to normal," said Arian Vojdani, investment
strategist at MV Financial in Bethesda, Maryland.
"But I don't think this is signifying a protracted
downturn. Markets continue to run based on the positive news
we've seen on vaccines and how forward ahead the market is
looking."
Positive updates on coronavirus vaccine have helped
investors raise bets on a swift economic rebound next year,
powering the Wall Street's main indexes to life-highs recently.
Pfizer Inc PFE.N and BioNTech's BNTX.O COVID-19 vaccine
got the green light for use in Britain, the first Western
country to approve a shot for COVID-19. Pfizer rose 3.3% and
BioNTech added 6%. A rotation into value stocks continued on Wednesday with
financials .SPSY and energy .SPNY edging higher, while
market leaders technology .SPLRCT fell 0.8% and communication
services .SPLRCL dropped from a decade high.
At 09:48 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
fell 125.87 points, or 0.43%, to 29,698.05 and the S&P 500
.SPX lost 15.71 points, or 0.44%, to 3,646.36.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 130.30 points, or 1.08%,
to 12,222.18, weighed down by a 6% slide in shares of soon-to-be
an S&P 500 member Tesla Inc TSLA.O .
Meanwhile, market participants are closely tracking the
progress in stimulus talks after a bipartisan group of U.S.
senators and House of Representative members proposed a $908
billion relief bill on Tuesday.
Getting a generous stimulus package through Congress is a
top priority, President-elect Joe Biden said in an interview
with the New York Times. He also said he would not immediately
cancel the Phase 1 trade deal that President Donald Trump struck
with China. Among other stocks, cloud data service provider NetApp's
shares NTAP.O jumped 7.5% after it forecast third-quarter
profit above expectations.
Later in the day, investors will turn to the Federal
Reserve's Beige Book report, which will give a glimpse of the
state of the economy based on conversations with business
contacts.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.5-to-1 on the
NYSE and by a 2.3-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted six new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 28 new highs and four new lows.