U.S. Stocks Open Unchanged

U.S. stocks opened marginally higher on Wednesday amid weaker-than-expected economic reports on private-sector hiring and productivity. Reports on services sectors is due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. The private sector hiring slowed in November, though employers added more than 200,000 jobs in seven of the past eight months. The productivity for the third quarter was revised upwards, however, labor costs fell, pointing at lagging wages. The S&P 500 opened less than a point higher at 2,067. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 17 points, or 0.1%, at the open to 17,862. The Nasdaq Composite began the day up 5 points, or 0.1% at 4,761.