US stock futures were slightly lower in Thursday's premarket session ahead of a slate of economic data set for release later the morning, including weekly initial jobless claims, durable good orders, and existing home sales data.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.6%, S&P 500 futures were off 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures were moving 0.2% lower.

Oil prices were sharply higher, with front-month global benchmarks North Sea Brent crude up 1.2% at $65.93 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude rising 1.3% to $63.09 per barrel.

Weekly initial jobless claims are expected to rise to 222,000 from 215,000; existing home sales are expected to decline to 4.14 million from 4.26 million, and durable goods are expected to rise 2.1% after a 0.9% gain in March, according to Bloomberg.

In equities, shares of Velocity Financial (VEL) jumped 36%, adding to a marginal gain on Wednesday. Linkage Global (LGCB) shares surged 36%, adding to a 9% gain the previous session. And shares of American Rebel (AREB) advanced 13%, after climbing 39% on Wednesday.

On the losing side, shares of Global Business Travel Group (GBTG) tumbled 24% after a 2% gain the previous session. MeiraGTx's (MGTX) stock shed 4% after rising 3.5% on Wednesday. And shares of Envela (ELA) dropped 21% after closing 2% higher the previous day.