US markets find gains

US stock indexes made early gains Wednesday, as investors shrugged off disappointing manufacturing data from Europe and Asia. Markit reported a sharp slowdown in Europe's manufacturing sector, while a decline in exports weighed on Asian factories in July. An Automatic Data Processing Inc. report countered some of the negative news, reporting a gain of 163,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy in July, more than expected. Investors are anticipating a Federal Reserve stimulus measure that could be announced in the afternoon, when the central bank's Open Market Committee meeting ends. In midmorning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average added 51.46 points, or 0.4 percent, to 13,060.14. The Standard and Poor's 500 index gained 3.12 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,382.44. Tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 7.51 points, 0.26 percent, to 2,947.03. The benchmark 10-year treasury note fell 14/32 to yield 1.516 percent. The euro rose to $1.2313 from Tuesday's $1.2304. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 78.22 yen from 78.12 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gave up 0.61 percent, 53.21, to 8,641.85.