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

• Last week’s jobless claims fell barely, while private payrolls rose lower than expected in August.

• The August nonfarm payroll report is usually a crucial input for the Fed ahead of its next policy meeting.

US stocks ended mixed Thursday as investors digested recent labor market data ahead of the August jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 250 points and the S&P 500 slipped lower than 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite inched higher throughout the session.

Bond yields continued to tumble, adding to declines from earlier throughout the week. The ten-year Treasury yield dipped three basis points to a few.731%.

Investors are eagerly anticipating the August nonfarm payroll report, with markets on edge after recent data points this week showed the job market and the economy may be slowing.

Private payrolls rose lower than expected in August, with 99,000 staff added compared with estimates of 140,000. The number was also below July’s data, which showed 111,000 recent hires, according to ADP.

“While the actual print has little to no signaling power for the BLS payrolls figures, the undeniable proven fact that ADP private payrolls have been softening for five consecutive months is noteworthy,” Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY, said in a Thursday note.

July job openings also pointed to labor market softening, sinking to their lowest in over three years at 7.67 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Last week’s jobless claims, meanwhile, fell barely for the second straight week. Unemployment claims fell to 227,000 from 231,000 from the week before, according to Labor Department data.

Analysts expect the August nonfarm payroll report back to indicate the unemployment rate to fall barely to 4.2% with an extra 162,000 jobs added throughout the month.

The data will follow a critical report from July, which showed that unemployment increased to 4.3% in a surprise jump, up from 4.1% in June. The reading helped spark a steep market sell-off in early August.

Here’s where US indexes stood on the 4 p.m. closing bell on Thursday:

Here’s what else happened today:

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In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• Oil futures were lower. WTI crude increased inched right all the way down to $69.15 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dipped to $72.66 a barrel.

• Gold was up 0.75% to $2,544.90 per ounce.

• The ten-year Treasury yield dipped three basis points to a few.731%.

• Bitcoin dropped 3.6% to $56,024.

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