07:17 AM EDT, 09/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets mostly edged higher in Thursday's premarket activity as traders await crucial jobs data to assess labor market strength.

Standard & Poor's 500 was slightly in the green and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1% before the opening bell, while the Nasdaq decreased 0.1%. Asian exchanges were mixed to lower while the majority of European bourses were heading north midday on the continent.

The Challenger Job Cut Report for August posts at 7:30 am ET, followed by the ADP Employment Report for the same month at 8:15 am. The weekly jobless claims bulletin is out at 8:30 am. The government's nonfarm payrolls data for August is scheduled to be released on Friday.

Thursday's economic calendar also has the revised second-quarter productivity and costs report at 8:30 am. The August purchasing managers' index composite final report from S&P Global is due at 9:45 am, followed by the ISM Services gauge for the same month at 10 am.

The weekly EIA domestic natural-gas supplies and petroleum inventories reports are slated for a 10:30 am and 11 am release, respectively.

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) gained 2.2% pre-bell after the electric vehicle manufacturer announced plans on X to launch its driver assistance system in China and Europe in the first quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approvals. Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) declined 2.5% despite reporting better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results.

Toro (TTC), Nio (NIO), Science Applications International ( SAIC ) , Korn Ferry ( KFY ) and John Wiley & Sons ( WLY ) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others. Broadcom ( AVGO ) , Guidewire Software ( GWRE ) and DocuSign ( DOCU ) post earnings after markets close.

Before the bell, bitcoin fell 1.9% to $56,802, West Texas Intermediate crude oil ticked up 0.2% to $69.36 per barrel, yields on 10-year Treasuries were little changed at 3.77% and gold rose 0.8% to $2,546 an ounce.