ADP Report: Tomorrow's Headliners

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- As the third quarter comes to an end, traders will turn their focus Wednesday to a full slate of economic data and government hearings.

At 8:15 a.m. EDT, ADP (ADP Quote) will release its September employment report, which should show that the private sector lost 200,000 jobs during the month. Still, that would be an improvement from August, when the private sector lost 298,000 jobs. On Friday, the Labor Department will release its own nonfarm payrolls report.

Not long after, the Commerce Department will post the final reading on gross domestic product for the second quarter. Economists polled by Reuters expect the preliminary read of a -1% to be revised lower to -1.2%. That compares to the final first-quarter GDP reading of -6.4%.

At 9:45 a.m. EDT, the Chicago Purchasing Managers will release the September read of its manufacturing index, which economists expect will rise to 52 from a reading of 50 in August.

Turning to political news, Capitol Hill will be bustling with several hearings scheduled for Wednesday. Among them, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will convene a hearing on the government's role in the Bank of America (BAC Quote) acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

In addition, the House Financial Services subcommittee will hold a hearing on credit rating agencies. A separate House committee will hold a hearing on Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's proposed consumer financial protection agency.

Investors will also be focusing on the Energy Department's weekly inventory report, due at 10:30 a.m. EDT. Crude oil inventories likely rose by 1 million barrels last week, a Bloomberg survey of analysts shows. Gasoline inventories and distillate stockpiles probably increased last week as well, according to the survey.

Corporate quarterly reports will be light Wednesday with only Actuant (ATU Quote) set to report quarterly results before the opening bell. Diamond Foods (DMND Quote) and Xyratex (XRTX Quote) are scheduled to post earnings after the end of the trading day.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in New York.