Easing unemployment fuels Dow rebound

May 6, 2009 at 11:59a.m.

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors are buying up stocks as a report indicates job losses might be slowing.

Stocks are mostly higher Wednesday after an unofficial gauge of the labor market said that private sector employment fell by 491,000 in April compared with the 708,000 jobs lost in March.

The ADP National Employment Report is a reassuring sign ahead of the Labor Department's Friday report on job losses. It offers another sign that the economy's slide could be moderating.

In midday trading, the Dow is up 30 at 8,436. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 5 to 909, while the Nasdaq composite index is down 11 at 1,743.