1. U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday after data showed a better-than-expected rise in private sector jobs in September, fueling hopes for a strong reading in Friday's payrolls report.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 93.07 points, or 0.58 percent, to 16,142.2, the S&P 500 gained 13.69 points, or 0.73 percent, to 1,897.78 and the Nasdaq composite added 58.39 points, or 1.29 percent, to 4,575.72.
2. Manufacturing activity in the Chicago-area contracted unexpectedly in September, dampening optimism over the U.S. economic outlook, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, market research group Kingsbury International said its Chicago purchasing managers’ index tumbled by 5.7 points to a seasonally adjusted 48.7 this month from a reading of 54.4 in August. Analysts had expected the index to fall 1.4 points to 53.0 in September.
3. Oil prices slipped on Wednesday after an unexpectedly big build in U.S. crude inventories, further evidence of an oversupply that has helped halve global spot prices over the last year.
U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by 4.6 million barrels in the week to Sept. 25, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said, well above a modest increase of 100,000 barrels that analysts polled by Reuters had forecast.
4. The dollar pushed higher against the other major currencies on Wednesday, after data showed that U.S. non-farm private employment rose more than expected in September and as investors eyed a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen scheduled later in the day.
5. U.S. natural gas futures declined on Wednesday, as market participants looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. gas inventories to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.
Natural gas for delivery in November on the New York Mercantile Exchange shed 2.5 cents, or 0.97%, to trade at $2.561 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours.
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