Investors Await Key Employment Data as US Futures Nudge Higher Premarket Thursday

US stock futures were moving slightly higher in Thursday's premarket activity as investors look ahead to key employment data that will be released later in the morning.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.2%, S&P 500 futures were rising 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.1%.

Oil prices were moving sharply higher, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude climbing 1.4% and 1.6% respectively.

Initial jobless claims, which measure how many people filed for unemployment insurance for the first time during the past week, are expected to remain unchanged from the previous week at 227,000, according to Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, continuing jobless claims, which measure how many people are receiving unemployment insurance benefits, are expected to rise to 1.850 million from 1.838 million, according to Bloomberg.

In equities, shares of Tenon Medical (TNON) soared more than 165% in Thursday's premarket activity after the company said Wednesday that it plans to proceed with a public share offering to regain compliance with Nasdaq's minimum float requirement. Smart for Life (SMFL) shares jumped 60%, paring losses from earlier this week. Shares of Pineapple Energy (PEGY) climbed 33%, more than recovering from Wednesday's 14% loss.

On the losing side, shares of Fulcrum Therapeutics (FULC) plummeted 70% after the company said Thursday that its phase 3 trial evaluating losmapimod in patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy did not meet its primary endpoint. Ryde Group (RYDE) shares plunged 61%, piling on to a nearly 36% loss Wednesday. Shares of Quhuo (QH) tumbled 26%, erasing a 24% gain from the previous session.