Wall Street stocks shrugged off early weakness Wednesday and finished with solid gains after poor US hiring data boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.

The report showed US companies shed 32,000 jobs in November, payroll firm ADP said, in a surprise drop that added to worries about economic weakness while also boosting expectations for Fed monetary policy relief.

"The market is happy with what the weaker than expected jobs report will mean for the Fed's likelihood of cutting rates when they meet on December 9th and 10th," said Sam Stovall of CFRA Research.

"We're back into the optimism surrounding the Fed cutting rates before the year is out."

All three major US indices finished higher, with the S&P 500 up 0.3 percent.

"The modest fall in the

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