 "Wall Street opens lower as private jobs data weighs")
US stocks opened lower for the second straight day on Wednesday after weak private jobs data added to worries about global growth.
The ADP private sector employment report showed that 156,000 jobs were added in April. The number fell way below the 196,000 jobs estimated by economists who were surveyed by Reuters.
The report is a precursor to the more comprehensive government nonfarm payrolls data, which is expected on Friday.
The U.S. Federal Reserve, which held monetary policy steady last week, is keeping a keen eye on data, while leaving the door open for a rate hike in June.
A strengthening labor market is expected to influence its decision on future rate hikes.
World stocks added to losses after lackluster manufacturing data from across the world, including China, triggered this week's selling spree.
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The S&P 500 has jumped 14% since mid-February, helped by recovering oil prices and an accommodative Fed. However, the index has faltered in the past two weeks due to lackluster earnings reports and mixed economic data.
"I think we are in a range-bound market," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.
"Global-growth fears are going to come back now and then particularly when there are concerns that China is headed for a harder-than-expected fall."
At 9:35 a.m. ET (1335 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average was down 86.43 points, or 0.49%, at 17,664.48, the S&P 500 was down 9.87 points, or 0.48%, at 2,053.5 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 23.41 points, or 0.49%, at 4,739.81.
Eight of the 10 major S&P sectors were lower, with the financial index's 0.93% loss leading the decliners.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari is scheduled to host a town-hall meeting in Rochester, Minnesota, that may touch upon the monetary policy. Kashkari is a non-voting member of the Fed's policy-setting committee this year.
Shares of Priceline fell 7.5 percent to $1255.23 after the online travel services company's forecast fell short of expectations.
Time Warner Inc was up 2.9 percent at $75.70 after the owner of CNN and Cartoon Network reported a higher-than-expected rise in quarterly revenue.
Zillow jumped 14 percent to $29.30, a day after the online real estate listings provider raised its full-year revenue outlook.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,860 to 761. On the Nasdaq, 1,538 issues fell and 584 advanced.
The S&P 500 index showed one new 52-week high and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded six new highs and 14 new lows.