03:49 PM EDT, 09/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were struggling for direction ahead of Thursday's close as markets evaluated labor market data while awaiting the official jobs report for August.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6% at 40,717.5, while the S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 5,498.4. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% to 17,110.4. Among sectors, health care saw the steepest decline, while consumer discretionary led the gainers.

Employment growth in the US private sector slowed down for the fifth consecutive month in August, while wage growth held steady, Automatic Data Processing ( ADP ) reported.

US-based employers cut 75,891 jobs last month, surging 193% from July and up 1% from August 2023, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US decreased more than estimated, government data showed.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to report Friday that the US economy added 165,000 nonfarm jobs last month, which would mark an acceleration from the 114,000 gain posted for July, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus.

The US 10-year yield fell 4.3 basis points to 3.73%, while the two-year rate dropped 2.4 basis points to 3.75%.

Broadcom ( AVGO ) , DocuSign ( DOCU ) and Guidewire Software ( GWRE ) are among the companies scheduled to report their latest quarterly financial results after the closing bell.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.2% to $69.32 a barrel.