A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 3, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo

By Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur

(Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were little changed on Thursday after a softer-than-expected private payrolls report, while Salesforce shares dropped as the cloud company gave a downbeat revenue forecast.

U.S. private payrolls increased less than anticipated in August, while weekly jobless claims came in higher than expected, in the latest data pointing to easing labor market conditions.

Trader bets on a September interest rate cut stood intact at over 97%, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. A 25 basis point cut was largely priced in after July's bleak payrolls figures, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's dovish comments and a weak job openings report for July.

The focus now shifts to Friday's highly anticipated nonfarm payrolls data.

"We got a softer ADP (reading) but not enough to indicate a material slowdown or any change in the easing bias of the Fed," said Eric Teal, chief investment officer at Comerica Wealth Management.

"The market is expecting to see some weakening that will make a stronger case for monetary easing."

Separately, the Institute for Supply Management's index showed U.S. services sector activity picked up in August.

Meanwhile, Salesforce fell 8% after it forecast third-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, signaling lagging monetization for its AI agent platform. The stock bogged down the blue-chip Dow.

While AI-linked companies have driven U.S. stock indexes to record highs this year, their momentum slowed last month on concerns over valuations and results from bellwether Nvidia which fell short of heightened expectations.

On Thursday, Amazon.com gained 3.2%, while Meta Platforms jumped 1.8%, boosting the consumer discretionary and communication services sectors.

At 10:11 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48.34 points, or 0.11%, to 45,225.17, the S&P 500 gained 2.48 points, or 0.04%, to 6,450.97 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.92 points, or 0.01%, to 21,499.30.

Investors will also watch U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee, economic adviser Stephen Miran, testify in a Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday to fill an open seat on the Fed board.

Wall Street had a dour start to September, pressured by rising Treasury yields. The month has been historically bad, with the S&P 500 losing 1.5% on average since 2000, according to LSEG data.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed higher on Wednesday, boosted by Google-parent Alphabet hitting a record high after a Washington judge ruled the company would not have to sell its Chrome browser. The stock fell 1.6%.

Market participants will also parse speeches from Fed officials John Williams and Austan Goolsbee later in the day. Central bank officials had said on Wednesday that labor market worries continued to animate their belief that rate cuts still lay ahead.

American Eagle Outfitters soared about 30% and was set for its biggest one-day gain after the apparel company forecast third-quarter comparable sales above estimates on Wednesday.

Figma fell 18% after the design software firm's first quarterly results as a public company failed to impress investors.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.49-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.23-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted seven new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 42 new highs and 85 new lows.

(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Maju Samuel)