Shares of retailers and other consumer-services companies sank, led by losses in consumer-discretionary stocks.

Growth in the U.S. services sector cooled in December to a still solid pace supported by a rise in new business, data from IHS Markit's survey of purchasing managers showed. The final U.S. Services Purchasing Managers' Index compiled by IHS Markit decreased to 57.6 in December from 58.0 in November, above the 57.3 forecast from economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

ADP's December employment report, which measures the change in employees on private companies' payrolls, said that 807,000 jobs were added last month, significantly above the 375,000 expected by economists.

Extended return windows and higher parcel costs threaten to cause margin-eroding headaches when shoppers send back holiday gifts. Products and gifts valued at $112 billion to $114 billion could be returned to U.S. retailers after the holiday season, up from $100 billion in 2020 and $95 billion in 2019, according to an estimate from B-Stock Solutions, an online liquidation platform that allows retailers such as Best Buy and Walmart to sell returned or excess inventory to other, typically smaller retailers.

United Parcel Service expects to handle more than 60 million return packages from Nov. 14 through Jan. 22, a 10% increase from the previous year.

In the auto industry, Chrysler said it would launch its first electric vehicle by 2025 and unveiled a new crossover concept called the Chrysler Airflow at the CES technology show in Las Vegas. The company plans to become an all-electric auto maker by 2028 as parent company Stellantis seeks to revive the fortunes of the nearly 100-year-old car brand.

Meanwhile, GM has prepared another move in its century-old competition with Ford. The automaker is rolling out an electric Chevrolet Silverado pickup, which it said will have more high-tech features and driving range than Ford's pending F-150 Lighting EV and others in the electric-pickup market. But limited numbers of F-150 Lightnings are scheduled to go on sale about a year ahead of the electric Silverado's expected debut.


 Write to Amy Pessetto at amy.pessetto@dowjones.com 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-05-22 1716ET