US stocks mixed during early trade, Nasdaq outperforms

Major US equity indices witnessed mixed opening on Wednesday as investors digested a duo of upbeat US economic reports.

The ADP report showed private sector employers added 237K new jobs in August, well above consensus estimates, while the economy expanded at an annualized pace of 3.0% in the second quarter, better than 2.6% originally estimated and marking its fastest growth rate in more than two years. 

The trading action, however, remained subdued amid concerns over Hurricane Harvey and geopolitical tensions in the Korean Peninsula. 

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Moreover, traders also seemed to refrain from placing aggressive bets and wait for the US President Donald Trump's first speech specifically on tax reform, later during the day. 

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average held near break-even levels, around 21,860, while the broader S&P 500 Index inched up around 2-points to 2,448. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index outperformed and climbed in excess of 20-points to 6,325.