US pre-open: Futures slip as oil prices remain in focus

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Thursday as oil prices continued on their upward trajectory. As of 1200 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.21%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.05% and 0.02% softer, respectively.

The Dow closed 238.14 points higher on Wednesday, clawing back some of the previous session's losses.

Futures slipped on Thursday as crude prices pushed higher, with West Texas Intermediate up 2.18% to $76.84 per barrel and Brent crude rising 2.01% to $83.44.

Oil's renewed climb came even after Donald Trump said the US was preparing to provide risk insurance and naval escorts for vessels moving through the Persian Gulf in an effort to keep traffic flowing via the Strait of Hormuz. However, the White House fell short of giving any timeline for when the key chokepoint - which carries around 20% of global oil flows - might be deemed safe for tankers.

Defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the US was "winning decisively" in its conflict with Iran and that more forces were being deployed to the region. Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump's newly announced 15% global tariff rate was likely to take effect this week.

On the macro front, Challenger job cuts data will be released at 1230 GMT, while weekly jobless claims numbers will follow at 1330 GMT, as will January's import/export price index report and a preliminary reading of Q4 non-farm productivity figures.

In the corporate space, Costco, Kroger and Victoria's Secret were all slated to report earnings before the open.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com