US stock futures are sharply higher in Thursday's premarket session on reports of a major impending trade deal between the US and the UK, and ahead to key employment data coming out later in the morning.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.79%, S&P 500 futures were gaining 1.00%, and Nasdaq futures were rising 1.31%.

Oil prices were also sharply higher, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude rising 1.54% and 1.81% respectively.

The Department of Labor will release weekly initial jobless claims and continuing jobless claims at 8:30 am EDT. Initial claims are expected to decline to 231,000 from 241,000, according to Bloomberg, which also forecasts continuing jobless claims to decline to approximately 1.89 million from approximately 1.92 million.

In equities, shares of Asset Entities (ASST) jumped 59%, adding to a massive 456% gain on Wednesday when it said it will merge with Strive Asset Management to form a public company. ZK International (ZKIN) shares surged 41%, adding to an 6.4% gain on Wednesday. And shares of Sezzle (SEZL) advanced 35% after it reported rising Q1 earnings and revenue after hours Wednesday, and raised its full-year 2025 guidance.

On the losing side, shares of Energy Recovery (ERII) tumbled 26% after it reported late Wednesday that its net loss per share widened in Q1. Shares of scPharmaceuticals' (SCPH) stock dropped 8%, following a 5% gain the previous session. And shares of Krispy Kreme (DNUT) fell 24% after it reported Thursday a wider loss and lower revenue in Q1.