US stocks drop on shutdown, weak jobs data

About 45 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 133.19 (0.88 percent) to 15,058.51.

The broad-based S&P 500 lost 13.75 (0.81 percent) at 1,681.25, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 25.77 (0.67 percent) at 3,792.21.

US stocks rose Tuesday as investors hoped the budget impasse that forced the closure of much of the government would be short. But there was little sign Wednesday of a solution in sight.

"The reality is that a government shutdown -- partial or otherwise -- is not good for an economy already struggling to achieve escape velocity no matter how long it lasts," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.

"Complicating matters further is that the need to raise the debt ceiling hangs in the balance."

Fresh jobs data also dragged on stocks. Payrolls firm ADP said the private sector added 166,000 jobs in September, below what analysts had expected and too low to meaningfully reduce the jobless rate.

Most of the companies in the Dow were lower, with bigger declines for McDonalds (down 2.0 percent) and Coca-Cola (down 1.9 percent).

Agricultural giant Monsanto fell 2.3 percent after quarterly losses came in at 47 cents per share instead of the projected 43 cents per share. Monsanto said it expects earnings next year of $5.00-$5.20 per share, below the $5.33 expected by analysts.

Banking giant Wells Fargo lost 1.1 percent on fresh litigation related to its mortgage policies. The New York Attorney General plans to sue to giant bank for violating a 2012 settlement, a person familiar with the matter told AFP.

Bank of America, which reached an agreement on similar allegations with the New York office, fell 0.4 percent.

Electronic payments firm Global Payments shot up 8.4 percent after reporting earnings of $1.00 per share, five cents above expectations. The company also raised its forecast for 2014 earnings.

Online music company Pandora advanced 4.8 percent after reporting that active listeners reached 72.7 million at the end of September, an increase of 25 percent from the same period last year.