Wall Street's major market averages were down around midday trading Wednesday as investors digested employment data that fell short of market expectations.

ADP's monthly measure of private payrolls showed a 77,000-jobs increase in February, well below the 140,000-gain expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The February increase followed an upwardly revised 186,000 gain in January.

In company news, CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) shares declined by 9% in recent Wednesday trading after the company posted overnight fiscal Q1 and fiscal 2026 non-GAAP earnings per share guidance below analysts' expectations.

Microsoft's (MSFT) partnership with OpenAI does not qualify for investigation under UK merger rules, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority said. Microsoft shares were up 0.6%.

Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google has called on the US Department of Justice to keep the company intact as officials consider breaking up the search engine giant to resolve two anti-monopoly cases, media outlets reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

Google told MT Newswires it regularly meets with regulators to discuss the case. "As we've publicly said, we're concerned the current proposals would harm the American economy and national security," a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The US Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MT Newswires. Alphabet shares were down 0.9%.

Tesla's (TSLA) vehicle registrations in Germany dropped 76% to 1,429 units in February, compared with a year earlier, while overall electric vehicle registrations climbed 31%, the country's Federal Motor Transport Authority said. Tesla shares were down over 1%.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) said Wednesday it is offering cash-paying patients all dose strengths of Wegovy at a lower price of $499 per month through a direct-to-patient delivery option called NovoCare Pharmacy. Novo Nordisk shares rose over 3%.

Price: 354.40, Change: -35.76, Percent Change: -9.17