04:13 PM EDT, 09/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes ended higher on Thursday as slower private sector job growth fueled bets for deeper rate cuts.

* The ADP payrolls report showed that private employment rose by 54,000 in August, below consensus estimates of a 75,000 increase and lower than July's revised gain of 106,000.

* Initial jobless claims increased to 237,000 for the week ending Aug. 30, up from 229,000 the previous week, exceeding Bloomberg's survey expectation of a rise to 230,000.

*Odds of a Sept. 17 Fed rate cut now stand at around 98%, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

* The Institute for Supply Management reported that its US services index increased to 52.0 in August, up from 50.1 in July, surpassing Bloomberg-surveyed expectations of a more modest rise to 51.0.

* October West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $0.66 to settle at $63.31 per barrel, while November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.78 to $66.82.

* T. Rowe Price ( TROW ) and Goldman Sachs ( GS ) said Thursday they are teaming up to offer a variety of public and private investment products for retirement and wealth investors. Goldman is planning to buy up to $1 billion of T. Rowe common stock through open-market purchases, aiming for a stake of as much as 3.5%. Shares of T. Rowe Price ( TROW ) were up 5.8%.

* Several analysts, including JPMorgan and Wedbush, reduced their price targets for Salesforce ( CRM ) on Thursday after the company provided fiscal Q3 revenue guidance below expectations at the midpoint, leading to a 4.9% decline in its shares.