NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is holding steady on Thursday as the countdown ticks to an update on the U.S. job market coming Friday that could clear the way for the cuts to interest rates that investors love.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 45 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher.

Treasury yields were also easing in the bond market following the latest discouraging signals on the job market. One report suggested U.S. employers, excluding the government, nearly halved their hiring last month. Another said that more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, an indication of rising layoffs.

Neither number is flashing a recession, but a slowdown in the job market could push th

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