U.S. stocks headed up on Wednesday due to positive job data. Private employers added 297,000 jobs in December. The jump in payrolls from the ADP survey came in far above the 100,000 rise economists expected. The reading was 92,000 in November.
Economists often use the ADP report to fine-tune their forecasts for the payrolls numbers, though it is not always accurate in predicting the outcome.
Traders considered it as a good sign for the Labor Department's monthly jobs report due out on Friday, which will include both public and private sector employment.
The positive data from Institute for Supply Management(ISM) also helped lifting up the market. The ISM index of service sector activity increased to 57.1 in December, up from 55 the previous month.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 31.71 points, or 0.27 percent, to 11,722.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 6. 36 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1,276.56 and the Nasdaq was up 20. 95 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,702.20.
