Investing.com – Wall Street futures pointed to a flat to lower open on Thursday as investors looked ahead to data on the U.S. labor market and kept watch over price volatility in oil.
The blue-chip Dow futures inched down 11 points, or 0.05%, at 6:47AM ET (10:47GMT), the S&P 500 futures slipped 2 points, or 0.06%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 3 points, or 0.05%.
The U.S. Department of Labor will release weekly jobless claims at 8:30AM ET (12:30GMT) in what will be Thursday’s major economic report.
Investors will also gauge real estate market strength with the publication of April’s house price index at 9:00AM ET (13:00GMT).
Federal Reserve (Fed) governor Jerome Powell will also be on the docket at 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT) as he testifies in front of the Senate Banking Committee.
Markets remained skeptical surrounding the Fed’s forecast that it will hike rates once more this year, with Fed fund futures not pricing odds past the 50% threshold until the June 2018 meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
The dollar continued to show muted trade against major rivals on Thursday. It was last up just 0.01% at 97.23 by 6:50AM ET (10:50GMT).
Meanwhile, oil prices continued to be under watch with prices moving higher in early morning New York trade as crude attempted to claw back lost territory.
Black gold was still down more than 4% on the week, as battered oil prices hovered near ten-month lows hit overnight on worries about a supply glut and falling demand.
U.S. crude futures gained 0.56% to $42.77 by 6:52AM ET (10:52GMT), while Brent oil rose 0.76% to $45.16.
On the company front, Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS), Accenture and Jamba were among a handful of companies set to report earnings before the market open, while Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) will release results after the close.
Elsewhere, European stock markets fell for a third straight day on Thursday.
The first day of a two-day summit of European Union leaders kicked off in Brussels on Thursday with British Prime Minister Theresa May expected to make an appearance to inform other leaders of the U.K.'s intentions when it comes to exiting the political-economic bloc.
Earlier, Asian shares showed mixed trade while China’s Shanghai Composite closed with losses of 0.28% and Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.07%.