US stocks edge lower as data points to solid jobs report

US stocks edged lower in cautious early trade Wednesday as ADP private sector hiring data pointed to a solid July employment report this week.

Oil shares dropped as crude prices continued their 10-day slide amid worries of no action by producers to curtail the market glut.

About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1 percent at 18,436.49.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent at 2,173.06, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite lost 0.1 percent to 5,218.43.

The ADP payrolls firm said US businesses added a solid 177,000 new staff in July, pointing to a likely good Labor Department employment report for the month on Friday.

A strong jobs report could tip the balance at the Federal Reserve toward a long-awaited interest rate increase, as soon as late September.

"The ADP data continue to suggest that the trend in employment growth remains fairly strong -- strong enough to keep the unemployment rate trending down," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics.

Crude oil prices fell another one percent Wednesday, with Brent trading in London at $47.70, sending oil shares lower. ExxonMobil and Chevron were both down 0.6 percent, and oilfield service giant Schlumberger gave up 1.3 percent.

Apple shares edged up 0.1 percent a day after the European Commission socked it with a huge $14.5 billion tax bill, saying Ireland had given the company unfair tax advantages.

Apple said it would appeal the ruling and that it was confident it would win its case.

Among the Dow blue chips, Merck led the gainers, up 0.5 percent, while Dupont topped the losing column, down 0.8 percent.

In tech shares, Twitter surged 3.8 percent.