The S&P 500 closed at a fresh record high after an afternoon boost pushed stocks solidly into the green as traders shook off weak private employment data earlier in the day. A big jobs report now looms over the market, with traders wanting a figure Friday that bolsters rate cut chances without causing a scare about a recession. The broad market S&P 500 finished up 0.83% at 6,502.08, while the Nasdaq Composite settled up 0.98% at 21,707.69. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 350.06 points, or 0.77%, at 45,621.29. It was S&P 500′s 21st record close so far this year. The ADP private payrolls report showed an increase of 54,000 in August. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected private employers to add 75,000 jobs. The figure is also less than the revised 106,000 in July. Equities marched higher, however, as investors reasoned that the recent ADP data was weak enough for the Federal Reserve to justify a September rate cut, but not soft enough to herald a recession. Traders increased their bets that the central bank would cut on Sept. 17, with fed funds futures trading showing an uptick following ADP’s report, per CME Group’s FedWatch tool. They said there’s a 97% chance the rate will move lower. “The Federal Reserve’s free pass on the labor market has ended,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group. “ADP data continue to reinforce the narrative that the rate of positive change in the labor market has slowed significantly, so you can expect the Fed to tilt it’s balance of risks to cut rates in September.” U.S. Treasury yields dropped in the wake of the ADP data, easing pressure on the market. Gains have been held in check by rising yields earlier in the week, as the the 30-year yield briefly topped 5% Wednesday, amid heightened uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s tariffs as well as threats to the Fed’s independence. Also on Thursday, jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 30 increased to 237,000. That number came in above estimates and marked an 8,000 gain from the prior week, providing more evidence of slowing in the labor market. However, the ISM non-manufacturing PMI posted a better-than-expected reading for August, suggesting there is still growth in the services sector. Those reports come ahead of Friday’s big jobs report. Nonfarm payrolls are expected to have grown by 75,000 last month, according to economists polled by Dow Jones. Amazon also helped lead the market higher with shares closing up more than 4%, spurred by increased enthusiasm surrounding its relationship with Anthropic. Treasury yields fell on Friday after a key U.S. jobs report showed a slower-than-expected pace of hiring in August. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield slid 6 basis points to 4.103%, the lowest level since April 7. The 2-year Treasury yield was lower by 8 basis points at 3.495%, also reaching a five-month low. The 30-year Treasury yield fell more than 3 basis points to 4.830%. Asia-Pacific markets traded higher Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday formalizing a lower Japanese auto import tariff of 15%, down from 27.5%. The order also confirmed the agreement for $550 billion of Japanese investments in U.S. projects. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.03% to close at 43,018.75, and the Topix added 0.82% to end the trading day at 3,105.31 after the country’s July household spending rose 1.4% year over year. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.13% to end the trading day at 3,205.12, while the Kosdaq jumped 0.74% to close at 811.4. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.51% to close at 8,871.2. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.41%, while the mainland CSI 300 rose over 2% to 4,460.32. Oil extended its decline into a third session on Friday, heading for a weekly loss for the first time in three weeks as expectations grow of higher supply and a surprise increase in U.S. crude inventories added to demand concerns. Reuters reported on Wednesday that eight members of OPEC+ will consider raising production further at a meeting on Sunday. U.S. crude inventories rose 2.4 million barrels last week, rather than falling as analysts expected. Brent crude futures fell 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $66.64 a barrel by 0810 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 33 cents, or 0.5%, to $63.15. “There are increasing” said John Evans at oil broker PVM. For the week, Brent is down 2.2% and WTI down 1.3%. Gold prices hit fresh record highs on Friday after a soft U.S. jobs report cemented hopes of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut, fuelling fresh momentum for bullion’s blistering rally. Spot gold was up 0.9% at $3,577.33 per ounce,. Prices hit a record high of $3,582.71 and were up 3.7% so far this week. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.9% to $3,637.00.