The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +1.24%) had added just over 16 points as of 11:30 a.m. EDT. Dow Jones component Cisco (CSCO 2.82%) was a notable underperformer, falling nearly 1%, while shares tech stocks BlackBerry (BBRY +6.96%) and GT Advanced Technologies (NASDAQ: GTAT) moved higher.
ADP comes in light
Disappointing employment data may have helped to limit the Dow Jones' gain on Wednesday. According to ADP, private employers in the U.S. added just 191,000 jobs last month, less than the 195,000 that economists had anticipated.
ADP's data suggests the U.S. labor market may be weaker than expected, but it should be noted that it is just one measure of employment.
Cisco gives back gains
Cisco was one of the Dow's worst-performing tech stocks, although there wasn't much news to explain why investors were selling the networking specialist on Wednesday. The move lower may have simply been a pullback following a tremendous rally Tuesday in which Cisco was among the blue-chip index's biggest gainers, leading tech stocks higher.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
BlackBerry ends deal with T-Mobile
BlackBerry shares were up 1%, in spite of news suggesting the Canadian company could be poised to sell even fewer handsets in the United States going forward. BlackBerry has said it will not renew its licensing agreement with major U.S. carrier T-Mobile once the deal expires later this month.
Come April, T-Mobile subscribers upgrading to a new phone won't be able to buy a BlackBerry unless they change carriers. While that could weigh on BlackBerry shares, investors were evidently not too concerned. Although BlackBerry could lose business, it probably wasn't selling many handsets to T-Mobile subscribers in the first place -- BlackBerry's share of the U.S. consumer handset market has plummetted in recent quarters.
GT Advanced Technologies gets analyst boost
Shares of GT Advanced Technologies rose nearly 7% early in the session. Investors appear to be buying up shares in the wake of a major analyst upgrade.
Goldman Sachs raised its price target on GT Advanced Technologies to $24 from $20, while reiterating a buy rating. Goldman believes that the company will continue to benefit from the popularity of the next iPhone, as GT looks set to become a major supplier for the device.
