U. S. stocks fall over taper concerns triggered by jobs data

U.S. stock indexes fell on Wednesday shortly after strong private jobs in September was announced.

The ADP National Employment Report showed private payrolls increased by 568,000 jobs last month. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a rise of 428,000 jobs.

The jobs data fueled investors’ concerns that the U. S. Fed could start reining in its monetary stimulus soon, while worries lingered about the government debt ceiling.

Debate in the Congress about the debt limit showed no sign of compromise, as Democrats planned a third attempt to get Republicans to vote to raise the federal government’s borrowing authority and head off a catastrophic default.

All the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes were trading lower, with financials and industrials down 1% each.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 293.48 points, or 0.86%, at 34,021.19, the S&P 500 was down 29.91 points, or 0.69%, at 4,315.81 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 48.59 points, or 0.34%, at 14,385.24.

Oil prices hit multi-year highs earlier in the day, stoking concerns that major central banks will tighten monetary policy to counter sharp price rises. However, crude prices retreated from those highs, while the S&P 500 energy sector slid 1.5%.