Wednesday

Stocks retreated under pressure from disappointing economic data, weaker commodity prices and lackluster earnings reports. As far as economic data goes, the Institute for Supply Management's index of nonmanufacturing activity for April came in below expectations. Automatic Data Processing reported that private-sector jobs in the U.S. rose 179,000 in April, missing economists' forecast. The government will release its monthly employment report on Friday. Several companies reported disappointing earnings, which also weighed on shares. DJIA -83.93 Nasdaq -13.39 S&P 500 -9.30.