US equity futures were down ahead of Thursday's opening bell as crude prices rose amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, stoking fresh inflation concerns.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.3% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.6%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.7% lower.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 5.2% at $113.07 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.6% higher at $96.05 per barrel.

The weekly jobless claims bulletin, released at 8:30 am ET, showed new unemployment claims of 205,000 in the week ended March 14, down from 213,000 in preceding week and lower than estimates compiled by Bloomberg for 215,000. The March Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index came in at 18.1 versus 8.0 expected.

The January new home sales index, due at 10 am ET, is seen coming in at a 722,000 annual rate versus 745,000 previously. The January wholesale inventories bulletin is expected to show a 0.2% increase to match the previous month's gain.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 3.4% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 2% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 1.4% lower. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 2.6%, and Germany's DAX index was 2.4% lower in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, Align Technology (ALGN) stock was up 6% after Bloomberg News reported that activist investor Elliott Investment Management has amassed a sizable stake in the company.

On the losing side, Canadian Solar (CSIQ) shares were 22% lower after the company reported it swung to a Q4 loss amid lower revenue.