Major US stock indices showed a noticeable increase after data from ADP indicated a stronger growth in employment in the private sector of the US, which in turn increased the chances of raising the Fed's interest rate later this month.

According to the ADP report, in May the number of employees increased by 253 thousand people compared to the revised downward indicator for April at 174 thousand (originally reported growth of 177 thousand). Analysts had expected that the number of employed will increase by 185 thousand.

At the same time, the report of the Ministry of Labor showed that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, but growth probably does not signal a significant shift in labor market conditions, as applications in several States, including California. According to the report, primary applications for unemployment benefits jumped 13 thousand to 248 thousand, seasonally adjusted for the week ending May 27.

At the same time, the seasonally adjusted final index of PMI in the US industry from IHS Markit was 52.7 in May and was less than 52.8 in April.

In addition, the report published by the ISM showed: in May, activity in the US manufacturing sector improved despite the average forecasts of experts. The PMI index for the manufacturing sector was 54.9 points against 54.8 points in April. Analysts had expected that this figure would drop to 54.5 points.

Most components of the DOW index finished trading in positive territory (24 out of 30). The leader of growth was UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH, + 2.38%). Most fell shares of NIKE, Inc. (NKE, -1.41%).

All sectors of the S & P index recorded an increase. The growth leader was the conglomerate sector (+ 1.5%).

At closing:

DJIA + 0.64% 21.143.36 +134.71

Nasdaq + 0.78% 6.246.83 +48.31

S & P + 0.75% 2,430.00 +18.20

U.S. stock-index futures advanced, supported by better-than-expected ADP's Employment Change Report for May.

Stocks:

Nikkei 19,860.03 +209.46 +1.07%

Hang Seng 25,809.22 +148.57 +0.58%

Shanghai 3,101.70 -15.48 -0.50%

S&P/ASX 5,738.13 +13.56 +0.24%

FTSE 7,553.71 +33.76 +0.45%

CAC 5,320.82 +37.19 +0.70%

DAX 12,654.69 +39.63 +0.31%

Crude $48.37 (+0.10%)

Gold $1,265.80 (-0.75%)

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

McDonald's (MCD) target raised to $165 from $150 at Telsey Advisory Group

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) reported Q2 FY 2017 earnings of $0.35 per share (versus $0.42 in Q2 FY 2016), in-line with analysts' consensus estimate.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $9.900 bln (-22.1% y/y), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $9.747 bln.

The company also issued downside guidance for Q3, projecting EPS of $0.24-0.28 versus analysts' consensus estimate of $0.31, and reaffirmed guidance for FY 2017, forecasting EPS of $1.46-1.56 versus analysts' consensus estimate of $1.47.

HPE fell to $18.50 (-1.65%) in pre-market trading.

European stock markets closed mostly lower Wednesday, as investors digested the latest bout of uncertainty surrounding the U.K. election and assessed a sharper-than-expected fall in eurozone inflation.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday, but off their worst levels of the session, notching gains for the month as a slump in bank shares and a mixed reading of economic reports weighed on investor sentiment.

Global equity markets struggled to find direction as a new month began, though Japan outperformed despite a lack of action with the yen, which often affects the country's stocks.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei -27.28 19650.57 -0.14%

TOPIX -4.30 1568.37 -0.27%

Hang Seng -40.98 25660.65 -0.16%

CSI 300 +12.45 3492.88 +0.36%

Euro Stoxx 50 -6.63 3554.59 -0.19%

FTSE 100 -6.56 7519.95 -0.09%

DAX +16.38 12615.06 +0.13%

CAC 40 -22.31 5283.63 -0.42%

DJIA -20.82 21008.65 -0.10%

S&P 500 -1.11 2411.80 -0.05%

NASDAQ -4.67 6198.52 -0.08%

S&P/TSX -22.44 15349.91 -0.15%