Written by: Andrea Tse
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Major U.S. stock markets were rising Thursday as jobless claims fell and private sector employment growth reflected steady if unspectacular improvement. Services sector employment appears to have gained strength according to an Institute for Supply Management gauge.
The S&P 500 was up 0.21% to 1,656.34 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was gaining 0.11% to 14,946.85. The Nasdaq was higher by 0.29% to 3,659.53.
Investors have been approaching September with caution given that the month is traditionally the worst performing month of the year, a trend for the S&P 500 that goes back 50 years. Caution prevails as the investment community looks ahead to guidance on the Fed's quantitative easing program, a decision about Syria, the debt ceiling debate in Congress as well as major elections in Europe.
Jobless claims fell by 9,000 to a lower than expected 323,000 from an upwardly-revised 332,000 for the week ended Aug. 31, according to Labor Department. Economists were expecting a slip to 330,000. The four-week moving average was 328,500, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's average of 331,500, the lowest level since October 2007.
The private sector created 176,000 jobs in August, less-than-forecast but well within the overall view of modest improvement in the country's jobless picture, according to payroll processor Automatic Data Processing. A 200,000 increase was expected according to a poll of economists by Thomson Reuters.
The Institute for Supply Management's report on the services sector showed an increase in its employment index by 3.8 percentage points to 57%, indicating employment growth for the 13th month as the non-manufacturing sector continued growth at a faster rate. The ISM non-manufacturing index rose to 58.6% in August from 56% in July. A slip to 55% was forecasted.
Elsewhere, the European Central Bank on Thursday kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low 0.5%.
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