US pre-open: Futures mixed ahead of jobless numbers

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the bell on Thursday after the blue-chip Dow Jones delivered its third-straight losing session. As of 1220 GMT, Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were down 0.20% and 0.01%, respectively, while Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.20% higher.

The Dow closed 70.13 points lower on Wednesday, extending losses recorded a day earlier.

Energy prices were in focus prior to the open, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.48% and fetching $69.71 a barrel and Brent crude 0.59% higher at $74.74 per barrel.

Also drawing an amount of investor attention, the yield on the benchmark ten-year Treasury note was up almost five basis points at 4.156%, while its two-year counterpart was nearly three basis points higher at 4.628%.

On the macro front, Challenger job cuts numbers will be published at 1230 GMT, while initial jobless claims data will be released at 1330 GMT and wholesale inventories data will be on deck at 1500 GMT.

Scope Markets' Joshua Mahony said: "US unemployment claims data comes into view as we gear up for Friday's jobs report. With both initial and continuing jobless claims on the rise of late, there are tentative signs that the US economy is finally starting to feel the squeeze. Nonetheless, we are yet to see any significant uptick in unemployment, with the Fed likely to remain confident that they have managed to land the perfect soft landing despite a historic monetary tightening policy seen over the past two years.

"Energy markets remain key for inflation expectations, with recent natural gas and crude oil weakness helping to bring forward the anticipated beginning of the monetary easing process from the Federal Reserve."

In the corporate space, GameStop was trading lower prior to the open after reporting lower year-on-year net sales, while Dollar General, Lululemon and Broadcom will all report earnings throughout the course of the day.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com