Wall Street Live: US stock indices edged up on Wednesday as investors shrugged off weaker-than-expected private payrolls data amid concerns over trade tensions between the United States and China.

A report by payroll firm ADP said that private sector employment rose by 37,000 jobs in May, a slowdown from 60,000 in April.

This was the slowest pace since March 2023, the report also said.

At 11:06 AM EDT, the S&P 500 was edging up by  0.27%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.17%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.36% higher.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54.5 points, or 0.13%, to 42,574.13. The S&P 500 rose 8.6 points, or 0.14%, to 5,978.94, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 36.0 points, or 0.19%, to 19,434.94.

After the data, US President Donald Trump lashed out at Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell on social media, urging him again to cut interest rates.

Now, investors await official payroll data due on Friday.

Last week, Trump had accused China of violating a pact to de-escalate tariffs, a claim that Beijing has denied.

Trump on Wednesday said it was “extremely hard” to reach a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with Beijing hitting back by saying its stance in trade negotiations had been “consistent.”

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.38% from 4.46% late on Tuesday. The 2-year Treasury yield eased to 3.89% from 3.96%.

Gainers and Losers

Wells Fargo stock rose 1.7% after the Federal Reserve on Tuesday lifted curbs placed on the bank in 2018 for having a toxic sales and banking culture.

CrowdStrike shares dropped 5.3% despite the cybersecurity company reported a stronger quarterly profit.

Bullion

Gold prices were flat on Wednesday on falling safe-haven demand.

Spot gold was steady at $3,349.19 an ounce, as of 1145 GMT. US gold futures were unchanged at $3,373.10.

Spot silver fell 0.5% to $34.32 an ounce, platinum rose 1.1% to $1,085.50 and palladium lost 0.5% to $1,005.11.