YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Disappointment over the latest ADP Employment Report hampered stocks for the entire session, which concluded on a relatively weak note.

Another 23,000 private payrolls were cut in March, according to the most recent ADP Employment Report. Though that was the smallest decline in two years, the news prompted participants to pressure stocks since the addition of 40,000 jobs had been expected.

The surprise drop in payrolls has called into question projections for the official nonfarm payrolls report, which is due Friday and is expected by many to show an increase of 185,000 jobs. Unlike the ADP figure, the government's tally is subject to a weather-related rebound and will include 2010 census workers.

The mood among market participants dwindled further with the midmorning release of the Chicago PMI for March. It came in at 58.8, but the consensus had called for 61.0 after a reading of 62.6 in February.

Though generally disregarded, factory orders figures offered a positive surprise to participants. Orders for February increased 0.6%, which was slightly more than the expected 0.5% increase, while orders for January were revised higher to reflect a 2.5% increase.

Despite that small dose of positive data, participants remained fixated on the ADP numbers. Given that jobs data is a key consideration in the Fed's monetary policy decisions, the slower-than-expected improvement in the jobs picture put added pressure on the dollar, which fell 0.5% against a basket of foreign currencies. Still, the dollar's decline didn't do anything for the broader market this session.

Energy stocks outperformed the broader for the entire session, but couldn't compel the rest of the stock market to follow it. Energy advanced 0.4% amid news that the Obama administration will propose allowing offshore oil and natural gas exploration in part of the Gulf of Mexico. The news drove drillers to a 2.6% gain.

Higher crude oil prices also helped. The price of oil climbed 1.7% to close pit trade at $83.76 per barrel. Contracts had actually encountered some midmorning pressure amid news of a larger-than-expected build of 2.93 million barrels, but it didn't take long before sellers backed off.

Oil and gas prices diverged in the latest session of pit trade. Specifically, crude oil prices climbed 1.7% to close pit trade at $83.76 per barrel. Oil prices had actually encountered some midmorning pressure amid news of a larger-than-expected build of 2.93 million barrels, but it didn't take long before sellers backed off.

As for natural gas, contract prices dropped 2.5% to $3.88 per MMBtu. Natural gas prices had been up overnight, but sellers stepped in at the start of pit trade and kept the pressure on for the entire session.

With some help from a drop in the dollar, precious metals made impressive gains this session. Gold prices closed with a 0.8% gain at $1114.50 per ounce. Silver settled at $17.53 per ounce, up 1.1%.

Despite considerable strength in oil and precious metals, the CRB Commodity Index still slipped to a 0.1% loss. Such a slight decline means the CRB still stands above its 50-day moving average

Financials made up the only other sector to finish in positive territory. They netted a collective 0.2% gain amid strength in regional banks (+1.4%) and multiline insurers (+1.5%).

Trading volume was rather unimpressive, given that this session marked the the quarter's end. Some expected that a degree of portfolio rebalancing would lead to an increase in share volume at the major exchanges. Instead, volume on the NYSE was in-line with recent averages.

The Fed's planned purchases of up to $1.25 trillion of agency mortgage-backed securities also came to an end today. The plan's expiration makes for an inflection point in the capital markets.

Advancing Sectors: Energy (+0.4%), Financials (+0.2%)
Declining Sectors: Consumer Discretionary (-0.8%), Tech (-0.6%), Industrials (-0.6%), Consumer Staples (-0.5%), Materials (-0.5%), Telecom (-0.5%), Utilities (-0.3%), Health Care (-0.3%) DJ30 -50.79 NASDAQ -12.73 NQ100 -0.5% R2K -0.8% SP400 -0.5% SP500 -3.84 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1008/2.37 bln/1668 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1211/1.15 bln/1815