Nov. 5--U.S. markets on Wednesday responded sluggishly to the news of Barack Obama's election to the presidency, as worse than expected job loss numbers were released and a tightening job market was predicted.

The Dow Jones Industrial Index fell by almost 200 points at its opening and was down by at least 100 points all morning.

The tech-heavy NASDAQ and Standard and Poor's 500 indices were also down by about two percent each.

Private companies cut 157,000 jobs in October, according to a report by ADP Employer Services.

Job losses among private companies had been expected to be about 100,000.

ADP also predicted a worsening job market, in advance of the Labor Department's payroll report on Friday.

Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, told Reuters that it is "entirely likely" that up to 200,000 jobs will be lost a month in the coming days.

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