Investing.com - U.S. non-farm private employment rose more than expected in December, boosting optimism over the health of the economy and supporting the case for higher interest rates, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 257,000 last month, easily surpassing expectations for an increase of 192,000.
The economy created 211,000 jobs in November, whose figure was downwardly revised from a previously reported increase of 217,000.
While not viewed as a reliable guide for the government jobs report due on Friday, January 8, it does give guidance on private-sector hiring.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0730 from around 1.0747 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4621 from 1.4628 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 118.48 compared to 118.34 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 99.64, compared to 99.51 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures indicated a decline 1.75%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a drop of 1.9%, while Nasdaq 100 futures tumbled 2.1%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,085.10 a troy ounce, compared to $1,086.80 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $34.83 a barrel from $34.78 earlier.