: U.S. stocks score fourth straight day of gains ahead of inflation report

U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday, booking gains for a fourth straight day as investors weighed signs of cooling in the labor market and revised data on economic growth in the second quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA ended 0.1% higher, while the S&P 500 SPX gained 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP rose 0.5%, according to preliminary data from FactSet. A U.S. employment report Wednesday from payroll processor ADP showed fewer private-sector jobs were added in August than economists forecast. Investors also digested revised data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which showed the U.S. economy grew at a 2.1% annual pace in the second quarter, down from an earlier estimated 2.4%. A reading from the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge will be released before the market’s open on Thursday.

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