Wall Street stocks mostly dropped early Wednesday following solid US employment data as markets monitored ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran.

The US economy added 143,000 private-sector jobs in September, well above estimates, according to payroll firm ADP.

Meanwhile, Israel vowed to make Iran "pay" for firing a barrage of missiles at its territory, with Tehran warning it would launch an even bigger attack if it is targeted.

US stocks had dropped Tuesday amid the Iranian attack.

About 15 minutes into trading Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 42,167.55.

The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.3 percent to 5,690.15, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.6 percent to 17,807.23.

Among individual companies, Nike slid 7.2 percent after the sports giant reported lower profits and revenues, signaling it will take time to engineer a company turnaround.

Tesla dropped 4.6 percent after reporting third-quarter auto deliveries that were roughly in line. A Wedbush note pointed to disappointment that the figures weren't more impressive after a rough first half of 2024.