US stocks were mostly flat on Wednesday after the previous day's rise to a five-month high as unexpected sharp drop in employment in September revived concerns over the economic recovery.
The mood was nevertheless improved by news of large acquisitions by General Electric and Johnson & Johnson as well as stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings from discount supermarket chain Costco.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 20.73 points (0.19 per cent) to 10,965.45 by 1.10am (AEDT), while the broader S&P 500 index was up 0.88 points (0.08 per cent) at 1161.63 points.
The tech-rich Nasdaq composite index slipped 3.52 points (0.15 per cent) to 2396.31.
Shortly before stock markets opened, payrolls firm ADP released a report saying private-sector employment decreased by 39,000 from August to September.
Most analysts had expected a gain of 18,000 jobs.
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"The decline in private employment in September confirms a pause in the economic recovery already evident in other data," the report said.
The sting of the September report was nevertheless softened when ADP revised its August figure from a decline of 10,000 jobs to an increase of 10,000 jobs.
The figure comes ahead of Friday's keenly expected monthly unemployment report by the Labor Department.
Trade was further boosted by strong corporate activity.
General Electric announced overnight it is acquiring energy infrastructure company Dresser in a deal worth $US3 billion ($3.1 billion) as GE seeks to expand its energy business.
Pharmaceutical and health care giant Johnson & Johnson said it will buy an 82.5 per cent stake in Dutch biotechnology vaccine group Crucell for some $US2.4 billion.
And Costco posted higher quarterly profit as consumers began spending more on discretionary items such as apparel.
On Tuesday, Wall Street soared to its highest level in five months after Japan's surprise move to lower interest rates and inject cash into the economy raised hopes for a similar move by US authorities.
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