NEW YORK, March 30 — Wall Street stocks dipped early today as diminished expectations for Ukraine-Russia peace prospects threatened the Dow’s four-day winning streak.

Kyiv today accused Moscow of shelling a city where it had promised deescalation, casting a pall following upbeat comments from both countries about negotiations held yesterday. 

The latest developments lifted crude prices.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1 per cent at 35,260.63.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.3 per cent to 4,618.29, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0.5 per cent to 14,554.08.

Payroll services firm ADP reported US private employers hired 455,000 people this month, slightly more than forecast but less than the upwardly revised 486,000 positions added in February.

The data, which comes ahead of Friday’s government jobs report, shows the American labour market remains healthy even as the wider economy struggles with inflation and supply shortages.

Among individual companies, Lululemon Athletica jumped 6.7 per cent as the apparel companies unveiled a US$1 billion (RM4.2 billion) stock repurchase program and reported strong results that included a 23 per cent surge in quarterly revenues to US$2.1 billion. — AFP