US stocks pause after recent record setting run

Following two consecutive days of record setting run, major US equity indices took a pause and witnessed a rather muted opening on Wednesday.

Sentiment in Europe was soured by the latest political crisis in Spain, which to some extent was negated by slightly better ADP report on the US private sector employment. 

Ahead of Friday's official jobs report (NFP), the ADP report showed private sector employers added 135K jobs in September, fewer than a downwardly revised 228K jobs addition in August.

   •  US: Private Sector Employment Increased by 135,000 Jobs in September - ADP

The Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to give brief opening remarks at a conference at the St. Louis Fed and might influence trading sentiment later during the day.

Meanwhile, renewed optimism over the US tax reforms has diminished scope for any sharp near-term downturn as investors now shift their focus to the upcoming third-quarter corporate earnings for any additional upside from the current record high levels.

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up around 9-points to 22,650, while the broader S&P 500 Index slipped 2-points to 2,532. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index underperformed and lost nearly 14-points to 6,518.