NEW YORK (AFP) - US stocks on Wednesday opened lower despite strong US employment and trade reports, continuing this week's trend of losses.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 59.21 (0.37 per cent) to 15,855.41.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 9.01 (0.50 per cent) to 1,786.14, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 15.30 (0.38 per cent) to 4,021.90.

US private-sector hiring surged to 215,000 net new jobs created in November, payrolls firm ADP said, well above expectations.

Also, the US foreign trade deficit narrowed to US$40.6 billion (S$51 billion) in October on a strong rise in exports, the Commerce Department reported. The higher exports suggested "a somewhat stronger global economy, and still resilient US domestic demand," said Tu Packard of Moody's Analytics.

More economic releases were due later Wednesday, including a report on non-manufacturing activity from the Institute for Supply Management and the Fed's "Beige Book" on economic conditions.