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S&P 500 up 0.3%, Nasdaq up 0.75%, Dow flat

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US private payrolls decrease unexpectedly in June

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Centene ( CNC ) tumbles after pulling 2025 forecast

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Tesla climbs after Q2 deliveries report

(Updates with early afternoon price)

By Sruthi Shankar and Nikhil Sharma

July 2 (Reuters) -

U.S. stocks recovered from opening losses to trade higher on

Wednesday, helped by Nvidia ( NVDA ), Apple ( AAPL ) and Tesla, while investors

looked ahead to the non-farm payrolls report for clues on how

soon the Federal Reserve would lower borrowing costs.

Tesla

rose 4.2%, even as the EV-maker posted a big drop

in second-quarter deliveries, with some traders saying the

numbers were less severe than analysts' bleak forecasts. The

stock has shed more than 20% this year.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 2.2%, while Apple ( AAPL ) added

1.8%, keeping technology shares in the lead.

Markets opened lower after data showed U.S. private

payrolls fell unexpectedly in June and job gains in the prior

month were smaller than initially thought, fueling increased

bets of interest-rate cuts as soon as July.

The focus, however, is on the more comprehensive

non-farm payrolls report on Thursday - set to be released a day

earlier than usual, with markets closed on July 4 for

Independence Day. The reading is expected to show U.S. job

growth cooled in June and the unemployment rate ticked up to

4.3%, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

"What's happening now is the data is getting very close

for the Fed to make a move. There's going to be a cut - it's

just a matter of July or September and then we'll go from

there," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis

Trading.

"The (April) selloff really shook a lot of people out

and you might see more buyers coming in. I think momentum is

very powerful in this market."

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 touched record highs on Monday,

recovering from their April slump as investors looked past trade

uncertainties and geopolitical tensions to bet on accommodative

monetary policy from the U.S. central bank and AI potentially

driving earnings for tech companies.

The blue-chip Dow was within 1.3% of hitting an all-time

high.

At 11:58 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose

2.29 points, or 0.00%, to 44,496.43, the S&P 500 gained

17.19 points, or 0.27%, to 6,214.98, and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 152.33 points, or 0.75%, to 20,354.69.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was not

considering extending the July 9 deadline for imposing tariffs

and expressed doubts that an agreement could be reached with

Japan, but said the U.S. had struck a deal with Vietnam and

expected one with India.

Meanwhile, Trump's massive tax-and-spending bill heads to

the U.S. House of Representatives for possible final approval

after the Senate passed the legislation, which nonpartisan

analysts say will add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over

the next decade.

Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors nursed losses, with

utilities and healthcare falling 1% and 0.7%, respectively.

Centene ( CNC ) tumbled about 40% and was set for its worst

day on record, if losses hold, after the health insurer said it

had withdrawn its 2025 earnings forecast after data showed a

significant drop in expected revenue from its marketplace health

insurance plans.

Shares of peers including Elevance Health ( ELV ) fell 8%,

Molina Healthcare ( MOH ) sank 20% and UnitedHealth ( UNH ) lost

3.5%.

Verint Systems ( VRNT ) rose 12.2% after Bloomberg News

reported buyout firm Thoma Bravo was in talks to acquire the

call-center software maker.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.79-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.77-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and three new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 34

new lows.