US stocks open higher after downbeat ADP report

U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday as investors believed that possibility for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in September becomes lower after the soft private payroll data.

U.S. private sector employment increased by 185,000 jobs from June to July, well below market consensus of 210,000, according to the June ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday.

The ADP figure is watched closely as a pre-indicator for the nonfarm payrolls data due Friday. Analysts thought that a soft ADP report could give the Federal Reserve an excuse to postpone rate hikes until December.

Meanwhile, the country's international trade deficit in goods and services increased from a revised level of 40.9 billion U.S. dollars in May to 43.8 billion dollars in June, largely in line with market estimates, said the U.S. Commerce Department Wednesday.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 41.73 points, or 0.24 percent, to 17,592.42. The S&P 500 rose 11.87 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,105.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 30.58 points, or 0.60 percent, to 5,136.13.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks declined for the third straight session as investors digested a batch of corporate earnings reports.