Stocks Mixed After Late Selloff

ADP's private sector employment data showed that 203,000 jobs were slashed from payrolls in October, compared to forecasts expecting a loss of 190,000 jobs, according to Thomson Reuters. But the report also revised the number of jobs lost in September down to 227,000 vs. the 254,000 originally reported.

On Friday, the unemployment picture will come into full view when the Labor Department releases its nonfarm payroll numbers and unemployment rate for October.

Merck(MRK) was the Dow's biggest winner, gaining 6.4% following the announced completion of its merger with Schering-Plough. The company said it is targeting high single-digit compound annual earnings growth to 2013, along with about $3.5 billion in annual cost savings past 2011.

Kraft Foods(KFT) was the index's biggest loser, falling 3.2% after the snack maker reported a 40% drop in third-quarter profit after Tuesday's closing bell.

Helping to fuel commodities, the Energy Information Administration said crude stockpiles plummeted by 4 million barrels last week to 335.9 million. Analysts polled by Platts expected a 1.3 million barrel build.

With dollar weakness highlighting much of the day, crude oil futures rose 80 cents to settle at $80.40. Gold settled at $1,087.30 an ounce, up $2.40.

Elsewhere, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo brought an antitrust suit against Intel(INTC), alleging a kickback scheme that unfairly hurt rivals.

Overseas, the FTSE in London added 1.4%, while the DAX in Frankfurt rose 1.7%. In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng tracked higher by 1.8%, as Japan's Nikkei grew by 0.4%.

--Written by Sung Moss in New York

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