New York--Wall Street stocks opened little changed Wednesday following solid US trade and employment data and a pledge by the European Central Bank to maintain aggressive monetary stimulus.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18,010.94, down 1.00 point (0.01 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 was essentially flat, up 0.07 at 2,109.67, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 10.84 (0.21 percent) to 5,087.36.
US businesses added 201,000 jobs in May after an average 170,000 in each of the previous two months, according to payroll firm ADP.
Commerce Department data showed the trade deficit fell to $40.9 billion in April from the huge $50.6 billion in March as the distortions from the West Coast port slowdown began to ebb.
ECB President Mario Draghi dismissed talk of ending early its monetary stimulus package.
Draghi also said the ECB wants Greece to remain in the single currency, but that a "strong agreement" was needed between Athens and its creditors. Worries about a Greek debt default have hung over stocks this week.
AFP
