The Nasdaq fell and the broader market was little changed Wednesday as investors considered weakness in technology and telecommunications shares along with signs of stabilization in the U.S. job market and service sector. A stronger U.S. dollar and some concerns ahead of Friday's U.S. government jobs report for December have created some hesitation by investors. In economic news, the massive U.S. service sector returned to growth in December, the Institute for Supply Management reported. Two private companies released reports on the December labor market. Payroll services firm ADP said private-sector employers cut 84,000 jobs last month, the smallest monthly decline since March 2008. Employers cut 145,000 jobs in November. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that more than 45,000 job cuts were announced in December, down from the previous month's figure above 50,000. December's figure was the lowest since December 2007. On Friday, the Labor Department is expected to report small net job losses in December and the national unemployment rate is expected to remain around 10 percent. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro and gained versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for February delivery rose $1.41 to $83.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price since October 2008. Gold rose $17.80 to $1,136.50 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average was virtually unchanged, rising 1.66 to 10,573.68. Shares of 3M rose 1.4 percent after a brokerage upgraded the stock. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index also was little changed, rising 0.62, or 0.05 percent, to 1,137.14. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 7.62, or 0.3 percent, to 2,301.09. The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 22.80 to 7,377.67. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 6.98 to 1,866.90. And the Russell 2000 index fell 0.54 to 637.95.
