Stocks fall on disappointing economic data

Wall Street opened the second quarter on a negative note as disappointing economic news sent stocks lower Wednesday.

Weaker-than-expected reports on jobs, manufacturing and construction spending raised investor fears about corporate earnings growth.

Stocks were off their lows of the day as the S&P 500 managed to barely stay in the black for the year.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 8.20 points, or 0.4%, to 2059.69, just above its 2058.90 close at the end of 2014.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 77.94 points, or 0.4%, to 17,698.18 and the Nasdaq composite index fell 20.66 points, or 0.4%, to 4880.23.

Shares of GoDaddy (GDDY) soared in its trading debut, rising 31% to $26.15 a share. The IPO was expected to raise $460 million after 23 million shares priced at $20 each were sold.

Several disappointing economic reports hurt stocks:

• In a sign job creation may be slowing slightly, private employers added 189,000 jobs in March, payroll processor ADP reported. That was lower than the 225,000 jobs economists expected.

The report raised concerns about the government's employment report for March due Friday. Economists surveyed by Action Economics are expecting 248,000 private and public sector payroll additions.

• Factory activity expanded at a slower pace in March as the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index fell to 51.5 from a reading of 52.9 in February. A reading above 50 indicates expansion but it was the index's fifth straight monthly drop.

• Construction spending in February dipped 0.1% after dropping a revised 1.7% in January, the government reported.

• Sales declined for most automakers in March as sales at Ford (F) dropped 3.4% and General Motors (GM) posted a 2.4% decline. Fiat Chrysler saw sales rise 1.7%.

The weak start to the second quarter comes after a volatile first quarter that saw an uneven performance by the major indexes as the S&P posted a modest 0.4% gain and the Dow dropped 0.3%.

Stocks have been unable to gain much traction this year as a rising dollar, falling oil prices and uncertainty about the timing of an expected interest hike from the Federal Reserve weigh on the markets.

Oil prices rebounded Wednesday as benchmark U.S. crude jumped 5.2% to $50.06 a barrel.

Overseas, Asian stock markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.9% as Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.7% and the Shanghai Composite rose 1.7%.

European shares rebounded from early losses Wednesday: Germany's DAX rose 0.3% and Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.5%. France's CAC 40 advanced 0.6%.

Contributing: Paul Davidson