Futures Point To Open Lower

(RTTNews) - Fresh concerns on the Middle East conflict and energy supply crisis might influence investor sentiments on Thursday.

In the Asian trading session, oil prices surged nearly 4 percent. Brent crude prices were up 4.1 percent at $104.32 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 4 percent to $91.83 a barrel.

Gold prices held steady. Spot gold edged up 0.3 percent to $4,122.43 an ounce. U.S. gold futures were up 0.2 percent at $4,147.90 an ounce.

As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were losing 360.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 31.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 196.00 points.

The U.S. major averages finished lower on Wedneday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 61.20 points or 0.2 percent to 27,538.69 after slumping by as much as 0.9 percent in early trading. The S&P 500 also dipped 17.16 points or 0.2 percent to 7,801.77, while the narrower Dow slid 341.41 points or 0.7 percent to 51,179.87.

On the economic front, the Jobless Claims for the week is scheduled at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 200K, while it was up 197K in the prior week.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Natural Gas Report for the week will be published at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was 64 bcf.

Thirty-year Treasury Bond auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.

The Fed Balance Sheet for the week will be issued at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the Level was $6.743 trillion.

Neel Kashkari will participate in conversation before virtual 2026 Institute Research Conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis at 10.40 am ET.

Alberto Musalem will speak on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before 'The Future of Fixed Income' Bloomberg event at 1.40 pm ET.

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday. Chinese markets ended notably lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index fell 0.79 percent to 3,811.90. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumped 1.43 percent to 23,785.79.

Japanese markets ended lower. The Nikkei average fell 1.42 percent to 69,042.11 while the broader Topix index settled 1.51 percent lower at 4,091.46.

Australian markets ended lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.77 percent to 8,660.90 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.80 percent lower at 8,823.20.