01:20 PM EDT, 06/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose in midday trading Wednesday after a services gauge swung to expansion in May while the number of jobs added in the same month slumped.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.6% to 17,125.1 with the S&P 500 climbing 0.8% to 5,333.2 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1% to 38,738.5. Technolgy paced the gainers, and consumer staples led the decliners.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management's US services index rose to 53.8 in May from 49.4 in April, compared with expectations for 51 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. There were increases in production, new orders and employment, though the employment reading remained below the breakeven point, while the prices reading decreased to a slower pace of growth.

The index has posted two sub-50, contractionary readings since the post-lockdown reopening, once in December 2022 and then again last month, Jefferies said in a note. While the December 2022 dip looked temporary due to the proliferation of the omicron variant of COVID the month before, the decline last month was more concerning, Jefferies US economist Thomas Simons said.

"The May rebound is encouraging as it shows a broad base of improvement across industries, but the comments from respondents highlighted in the ISM's press release are far more subdued and cautious," Simons added.

Meanwhile, the ADP Institute's employment report showed private payrolls increased 152,000 in May versus estimates compiled by Bloomberg for a 175,000 increase. The gain is the narrowest this year except in January, according to data compiled by Trading Economics.

Investors will look for the May labor market report Friday with nonfarm payrolls expected to have grown close to the more moderate pace of 175,000 seen in April after averaging 269,000 in Q1, according to a note from Daiwa Capital this week.

In company news, Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) shares surged 13%, the top performer on the S&P, a day after the company reported stronger-than-expected sales and earnings for fiscal Q2 while raising its guidance for the full year.

Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) shares slumped 3.8%, the biggest decline on the Nasdaq, after the company reported lower Q1 adjusted earnings and started a formal review of alternatives for its Family Dollar business segment.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.9% to $73.92 a barrel.

US commercial crude oil stocks rose by 1.2 million barrels in the week ended May 31 following a 4.2 million drop in the previous week and compared with the 2.3 million decline expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Gold rose 1.1% to $2,372.61 an ounce, and silver advanced 1.5% to $30.06.