NEW YORK, April 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Wednesday, as the market struggled to shake the rough start to the second quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 43.10 points, or 0.11 percent, to 39,127.14. The S&P 500 added 5.68 points, or 0.11 percent, to 5,211.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 37.01 points, or 0.23 percent, to 16,277.46.

Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with communication services and energy leading the gainers by going up 0.71 percent and 0.66 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, consumer staples and utilities led the laggards by dropping 1.10 percent and 0.42 percent, respectively.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized Wednesday that it will take a while for policymakers to evaluate the current state of inflation. "On inflation, it is too soon to say whether the recent readings represent more than just a bump. We do not expect that it will be appropriate to lower our policy rate until we have greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably down toward 2 percent," he said.

"Given the strength of the economy and progress on inflation so far, we have time to let the incoming data guide our decisions on policy," said Powell.

The comments were made two weeks after the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee decided to keep benchmark short-term borrowing rates unchanged. The committee's statement after the meeting on March 20 emphasized the importance of "greater confidence" as a prerequisite for any rate cuts.

Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic mentioned on Wednesday that he anticipates only one rate cut as prices of certain significant items have risen. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly stated that three cuts are a "reasonable baseline," although she cautioned that there are no certainties. Cleveland Fed's President Loretta Mester also indicated that cuts are probable later this year, but she added that long-term rates might be higher than initially expected.

On the economy front, the U.S. economic activity within the services sector continued its expansion streak into March, marking the 15th consecutive month of growth. According to the latest Services ISM Report, the Services PMI reached 51.4 percent, 1.2 percentage points lower than February's reading of 52.6 percent.

Private sector job growth surged in March, reaching its highest rate since July 2023, according to a report from payroll processing firm ADP on Wednesday. The data indicates ongoing strength in the U.S. labor market, with companies adding 184,000 workers during the month. This figure marks an improvement from the upwardly revised gain of 155,000 in February, which was also in line with the Dow Jones estimate for March. Enditem

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