U.S. Stocks Remain Lower After ADP Report

U.S. Market
U.S. stocks fell at the open and stayed lower, with new hiring numbers in focus.

Automatic Data Processing reported that private-sector employers added 212,000 jobs in February, slightly below expectations and below a revised January gain of 250,000. The previous figure for January had been 213,000.

The market also awaited the release of the latest Fed Beige Book, scheduled for 2 p.m. EST.

Meanwhile, the dollar continued to strengthen, hitting an 11-year high versus the euro, which fell to $1.1088.

At midday the Dow was down 0.6%, the S&P 500 was down 0.5%, and the Nasdaq
was down 0.3%.

Stocks on the Move
PetSmart (PETM) posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter numbers with a sale to a private equity firm looming. The company reported a profit of $132.1 million, or $1.32 per share, for the quarter ending Feb. 1, up from $131.5 million, or $1.28 per share, the year before. PetSmart shareholders are expected to vote Friday on a buyout offer worth more than $8.2 billion from a group led by BC Partners Inc. At midday PetSmart shares were flat.

Shares of teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) were down 13.1% after the company announced better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter profits but a 10% decline in same-store sales and 14% decline in total sales, below analyst estimates. Net earnings for the quarter ending Jan. 31 fell to $44.4 million, or 63 cents a share, down from $66.1 million and 85 cents a share for the same period a year earlier.

Foreign Markets
In Europe, stocks edged higher following the release of a slew of economic reports that shed little light on the health of the eurozone economy. Near the end of the session, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% while the Paris CAC and DAX were both 1.0% higher.

Asian stocks were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite ending 0.5% higher, the Nikkei 225 dropping 0.6% and the Hang Seng losing 1.0%.