07:26 AM EDT, 09/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets were mostly trending higher before the opening bell Friday as traders await the national employment situation report for August.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq added 0.5% in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%. The indexes closed Thursday's trading session higher, with the S&P 500 notching a record high.

The nonfarm payrolls report for last month is scheduled to be released at 8:30 am ET. Government data is expected to show that the US economy added 75,000 jobs in August, compared with a 73,000 gain reported for July, according to a Bloomberg poll.

"All signs are pointing to softer labor market conditions, with Friday's jobs report expected to show an uptick in the jobless rate," Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, senior economist at BMO, said in a report published Thursday.

On Thursday, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported that employment in the US private sector rose by 54,000 in August, less than the 68,000 increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Challenger Gray & Christmas reported that job cuts in August rose 13% and 39% on annual and sequential bases, while data from the Department of Labor showed that weekly applications for unemployment insurance increased more than expected.

Earlier in the week, official data showed that job openings in the world's largest economy declined in July for the second month in a row.

"The recent slew of disappointing employment data paints an increasingly precarious picture of the US labor market," supporting potential monetary policy easing by the Federal Reserve later this month, Stifel said in a Thursday client note.

Markets are widely expecting the central bank to lower its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points on Sept. 17, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The Fed's current monetary policy stance is "appropriate" as inflation continues to be above policymakers' 2% goal, while the labor market has been generally consistent with maximum employment, New York Fed President John Williams said Thursday.

Treasury yields were lower in premarket action, with the two-year rate retreating 0.5 basis points to 3.59% and the 10-year rate decreasing 1.7 basis points to 4.16%.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to implement the framework agreement between the US and Japan on trade that was agreed between the two countries in July.

Shares of Broadcom ( AVGO ) jumped 9.2% pre-bell as the chipmaker reported stronger-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results. Lululemon Athletica ( LULU ) tanked 18% after the athletic apparel and footwear retailer cut its full-year outlook due to higher tariff rates. DocuSign ( DOCU ) and UiPath ( PATH ) advanced 7.8% and 5.5%, respectively, following their latest quarterly results.

ABM Industries ( ABM ) is scheduled to report its latest financial results before the bell.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 0.2% to $63.35 a barrel before the open. The weekly Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count posts at 1 pm.

Gold edged up 0.1% to $3,608 per troy ounce, while bitcoin climbed 2.2% to $112,265.