U.S. stock futures were nearly flat in early morning trade Thursday as investors took a breather after the turbulence of the prior three regular sessions.
Futures for Dow Jones Industrials retreated 46 points, or 0.2%, early Thursday to 23,310.
Futures for the S&P 500 gave up 0.25 points at 2,788.25
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite tacked on four points to 8,642.
WTI contract for May delivery plunged below zero to trade in negative territory on the first day of the week for the first time ever. A day later, the more actively traded June contract fell 43.37% to settle at $11.57.
U.S. traders will on Thursday digest the Labor Department’s latest report on jobless claims.
Another 4.3 million workers are expected to have filed for benefits last week, which would bring the total number seeking benefits to over 26 million since states started shutting down in the second half of March in an effort to slow the virus.
The number of cumulative claims rose to 22 million over four weeks prior, erasing nearly all of the 22.442 million jobs recovered since the Great Recession.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.5% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index picked up 0.4%.
Oil prices gained $2.37 to $16.15 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices soared $14.60 to $1,752.90 U.S. an ounce.