Stock market news

Stock market news live updates: Stock futures gain ahead of jobless claims

U.S. stock futures gained in pre-market trading Thursday ahead of fresh data out of Washington on the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits.

Contracts on the S&P 500 rose 0.5% while futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 150 points, or 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures advanced 0.5%.

Oil prices, meanwhile, retreated slightly from a vicious upward ascent but held above $122, and the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield remained at the psychologically important 3% level.

A report indicating the highly-anticipated initial public offering of Jack Ma’s Ant Group is on the horizon appeared to buoy sentiment in the morning trade. According to Bloomberg News, China is expected to allow the Alibaba (BABA) affiliate to proceed with the listing in a sign that regulators may be dialing on a tech crackdown that halted the IPO two years ago.

Elsewhere in futures markets, shares of Tesla (TSLA) were up more than 3% before the open following an upgrade from UBS to Buy in a report that also said the electric vehicle giant is “best positioned to become one of the top-3 global car makers by 2030.”

Moves in early trading Thursday come after a down day on Wall Street that saw stocks resume losses after back-to-back sessions of gains. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 shed 1% while the Dow and Nasdaq fell roughly 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.

Investors continue to look for clues on how the economy is faring amid tighter financial conditions and how aggressive the Federal Reserve rate hiking cycle may get before a potential pause.