Wall Street Set to Open Lower Thursday as Investors Parse Lower-Than-Expected Jobless Claims, Oil Prices Approach $100 per Barrel

US stocks look set to open lower in Thursday's trading session as investors closely monitor the Middle East conflict and soaring oil prices, while jobless claims came in lower than expected.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.8%, S&P 500 futures were 0.7% lower, and Nasdaq futures also declined 0.6%.

US initial jobless claims fell to a level of 213,000 in the week ended March 7 from an upwardly revised 214,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for an increase to 215,000 in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

Oil prices continue to surge, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude rising 7.1% to $98.49 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude was up 6.5% to $92.95 a barrel.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei fell 1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.7%, and China's Shanghai Composite was off 0.1%. Meanwhile, in Europe's early afternoon session, the UK's FTSE 100 declined 0.4%, while Germany's DAX was down 0.3%, and France's CAC was 0.5% lower.

In equities, Tilly's (TLYS) shares were up nearly 64% in premarket activity Thursday, a day after the company reported a swing to fiscal Q4 earnings and higher net sales year over year.

Lightwave Logic (LWLG) shares were up 25% pre-bell Thursday after the company said late Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Tower Semiconductor (TSEM) to develop high-speed optical modulators.

Firefly Aerospace (FLY) stock was up 16% after the company said late Wednesday that it launched its Alpha Flight 7 Stairway to Seven mission from the Vandenberg Space Force Base before providing a demonstrator payload for Lockheed Martin (LMT).

On the losing side, shares in Decent (DXST) tumbled 36% after it said Thursday that it will enact a 1-for-25 reverse stock split, effective Monday.

Shares of G-III Apparel (GIII) dropped 16% after it reported declining Q4 non-GAAP earnings and revenue that missed analyst forecasts.

Netskope (NTSK) shares were down 19% in Thursday's premarket activity, a day after the company issued a wider-than-expected fiscal 2027 adjusted loss outlook.