
Stocks were choppy in the first half of Wednesday's session in reaction to a mixed round of economic data. However, the indexes picked up steam around lunchtime on reports the White House plans to relax some of its recently implemented tariffs.
Ahead of the opening bell, ADP said the U.S. added 77,000 private payrolls in February, the fewest since July and well below economists' forecast for 148,000. Job losses were seen across several industries, including transportation, education and healthcare.