US benchmark stock indexes rose in midday trading on Thursday as investors digested economic data ahead of Friday's August employment report.

The Nasdaq Composite increased 0.4% to 21,576.7, the S&P 500 went up 0.4% to 6,475.7, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 45,488.1. Consumer discretionary led the gainers, while the utilities sector was the biggest decliner intraday.

In economic news, ADP's monthly measure of private payrolls showed a 54,000 gain in August, lower than expectations compiled by Bloomberg for a 68,000 increase and following an upwardly revised 106,000 increase in July.

Initial jobless claims rose to a level of 237,000 in the week ended Aug. 30 from a 229,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for a smaller increase to 230,000 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The Institute for Supply Management's US services index rose to a reading of 52.0 in August from 50.1 in July, compared with expectations for a smaller gain to a reading of 51.0 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In company news, Salesforce (CRM) reported overnight higher fiscal Q2 adjusted net income and revenue, provided fiscal Q3 guidance, and updated its fiscal 2026 outlook. Salesforce shares were down nearly 6% in recent Thursday trading.

Texas Instruments (TXN) shares slid 4% after Chief Financial Officer Rafael Lizardi reportedly said that the company's recovery is not happening with the velocity that some have anticipated. The company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

The US 10-year Treasury yield fell 3.3 basis points to 4.18%. The two-year rate fell two basis points to 3.59%.

The ICE US Dollar Index was up 0.3% to 98.41.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.9% to $63.37 per barrel.

Gold was down 0.7% to $3,611.40 an ounce, and silver declined 1.5% to $41.43 per ounce.