Weak US hiring report sends stocks lower on Wall Street

Stocks started lower and remained there throughout the day, following a survey by payroll processor ADP which showed U.S. companies hired workers at the slowest pace in three years last month.

Economists expect the government to report that U.S. employers created 200,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate remained held steady at 5 percent.

Financial information company Markit said its purchasing managers' index for the region, a gauge of business activity, slipped to 53 in April from 53.1 the previous month.

While stocks are well off the lows they hit in February, investors remain reluctant to make heavy bets back into the stock market.

In other energy trading in New York, wholesale gasoline fell two cents to $1.49 a barrel, heating oil fell half a penny to $1.33 a gallon and natural gas rose six cents to $2.14 per 1,000 cubic feet.