By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks declined on Wednesday, retreating from the prior day's record after an economic report showed reduced hiring ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 60.56 points, or 0.4%, to 14,601.45, with Bank of America Corp. (BAC) leading the losses that included 21 of its 30 components.

The S&P 500 index (SPX) shed 9.43 points, or 0.6%, to 1,560.82, with financial companies hardest hit and technology losing the least among its major sectors.

While the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials on Tuesday closed at all-time highs, market breadth on the NYSE was a slight negative and trading volume slight, leaving the market "gasping for air at its current high altitude level with buyers reluctant to step in and drive prices meaningfully higher on heavy trading volume," Fred Dickson, chief investment strategist at Davidson Companies, said in emailed research. Read a blog on stock-market trends investors should really worry about.

On Wednesday, Monsanto Co.'s (MON) shares climbed 1.2% after the agricultural company hiked its 2013 earnings outlook.

Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) jumped nearly 14% after saying it would launch online gambling in the U.K.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) declined 15.86 points, or 0.5%, to 3,239.

For every share rising, three fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where 212 million shares traded as of 11:25 a.m. Eastern.

Composite volume neared 1.3 billion.

By the numbers

Before the opening bell, private-payrolls processor ADP reported private-sector job growth of 158,000 in March, below expectations of 215,000 and versus an upwardly revised gain of 237,000 in February.

The biggest increase of 74,000 came in small business, and while financial and manufacturing jobs increased, last month brought "zero job creation in the construction sector," noted Dan Greenhaus,chief global strategist at BTIG LLC in New York.

ADP has gotten better at predicting the monthly payrolls number from the Labor Department, but the company's misses "can vary in both size and direction," said Greenhaus.

So, while the data showing a reduced pace of hiring is cause for concern, "meaningfully changing Friday's estimate because of this number is a useless exercise. ADP is a guide, not a predictor," he said.

Equities continued their slide after the release of a gauge of the U.S. services sector, with the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index in March falling to 54.4 from 56 the month before.

Corporate America starts reporting first-quarter results next week, with Alcoa Inc. (AA) slated to release its earnings for the period on Monday.

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-03-13 1136ET