Stock markets end mixed ahead of crucial August jobs report

• The Dow and S&P 500 fell while the Nasdaq rose Thursday as investors braced for Friday’s jobs report.

• Jobless claims fell slightly last week, while private sector payrolls rose less than expected in August.

• The August nonfarm payrolls report will be an important input for the Fed ahead of its next monetary policy meeting.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors digested fresh labor market data ahead of the August jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 250 points and the S&P 500 was down less than 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite gained during the session.

Bond yields continued to fall, extending the decline seen earlier in the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell three basis points to 3.731%.

Investors are eagerly awaiting the August nonfarm payrolls report, with markets jittery after new data this week showed the labor market and economy may be slowing.

Private sector payrolls rose less than expected in August, with 99,000 new workers added, compared with an estimated 140,000. That figure was also lower than July’s data, which showed 111,000 new hires, according to ADP.

“While actual numbers have little to no signaling power over BLS payroll numbers, the fact that ADP private payrolls have been declining for five consecutive months is remarkable,” Gregory Daco, EY chief economist, said in a Thursday note.

Job openings in July also indicated a slowdown in the labor market, falling to their lowest level in more than three years at 7.67 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Jobless claims, meanwhile, fell slightly last week for the second week in a row. Jobless claims fell to 227,000 from 231,000 the previous week, according to Labor Department data.

Analysts expect the August nonfarm payrolls report to show the unemployment rate will edge down to 4.2% with 162,000 more jobs added during the month.

The data follows a critical July report, which showed unemployment rose to 4.3% from a year ago. surprise jumpup from 4.1% in June. That reading helped trigger a sharp rise market liquidation early August.

Here’s where the U.S. indices stood at 4 p.m. Thursday close:

Here’s what else happened today:

The story continues

In commodities, bonds and cryptocurrencies:

• Oil futures were down. WTI Crude Oil The price of a barrel fell slightly to $69.15. Brent crude oilthe international benchmark, fell to $72.66 per barrel.

• Gold rose 0.75% to $2,544.90 an ounce.

• The 10-year Treasury yield fell three basis points to 3.731%.

• Bitcoin fell 3.6% to $56,024.

Read the original article on Business Insider