By Liz Moyer
Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were falling as investors await the interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve this afternoon.
At 9:51 ET (13:51 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 137 points or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 was down 0.4% and the NASDAQ Composite was down 0.4%.
ADP’s private payroll report showed a greater than expected rise in October jobs. That won’t help bolster the Fed’s case for easing off rate increases after this week, as many investors have hoped it would signal.
On Tuesday, the government released a report that showed the number of job openings increased in September, a sign of still-strong labor demand and another indication that the economy is still not cooling quickly.
Investors expect the Fed to raise its benchmark rate another 0.75 percentage point later today, which would be the fourth such move in a row. Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference this afternoon.
In other labor market news this week, tomorrow will bring the latest reading on initial jobless claims, and Friday will bring the job market report for October.
Shares of chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) rose 5.9% after forecasting solid results in its data center business. Home-sharing company Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB) shares fell 5.5% despite posting its most profitable quarter.
Oil fell. Crude Oil WTI Futures was down 0.2% to $88.17 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures fell 0.2% to $94.41 a barrel. Gold Futures rose 0.5% to $1657.