U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday following Wednesday’s positive close. Futures of the major benchmark indices were lower.

Ongoing conflict in the Middle East remains the primary driver of significant market volatility, as hostilities involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran have escalated throughout the region. This marks the sixth consecutive day of unrest with no clear end in sight.

Recent labor and inflation data released Thursday provided a mixed but resilient view of the economy, as weekly jobless claims held steady at 213,000. This stability was complemented by a preliminary report showing nonfarm business labor productivity grew at a 2.8% annualized rate in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Meanwhile, January's import prices edged up 0.2%, driven by nonfuel gains that offset a decline in energy costs, suggesting underlying price pressures remain firm.

The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 3.11%, and the two-year bond was at 3.56%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 97.3% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.

Index	Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones	-0.23%
S&P 500	-0.13%
Nasdaq 100	-0.13%
Russell 2000	-0.38%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were lower in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was down 0.21% at $683.71, while the QQQ declined 0.32% to $608.80.

Stocks In Focus

Broadcom

• Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) jumped 6.66% in premarket on Thursday after reporting better-than-expected financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 after the close on Wednesday.

• AVGO had a weaker price trend in the short and medium terms but a strong trend in the long term, with a solid quality score, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.

Veeva Systems

• Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE:VEEV) rose 11.32% after reporting an upbeat fourth-quarter financial results and issuing FY27 guidance above estimates.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that VEEV maintains a weak price trend over the medium and long terms and a strong trend in the short term, with a moderate value ranking.

Costco Wholesale

• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST) fell 0.17% as analysts expect it to report earnings of $4.56 per share on revenue of $69.26 billion, after the closing bell.

• COST maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.

Webull

• Webull Corp. (NASDAQ:BULL) was down 3.13% it missed its quarterly profit targets, and CEO Anthony Denier bet on its AI assistant Vega.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that BULL maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium and long terms, with a moderate value score.

Trade Desk

• Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD) surged 16.85% after a Securities and Exchange Commission filing disclosed that President and CEO Jeffrey Terry Green acquired 6,398,089 Class A common shares between March 2 and 5.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TTD maintains a weak price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor quality ranking.

Cues From Last Session

Consumer discretionary, information technology, and communication services stocks recording the biggest gains led most S&P 500 sectors to a positive close on Wednesday, though energy and consumer staples bucked the trend.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Dow Jones	0.49%	48,739.41
S&P 500	0.78%	6,869.50
Nasdaq Composite	1.29%	22,807.48
Russell 2000	1.06%	2,636.01

Insights From Analysts

According to BlackRock's March 2026 commentary, the firm maintains a cautiously optimistic yet tactical outlook on the U.S. economy and stock market, driven largely by “mega forces” like artificial intelligence.

Strategists expect the U.S. labor market to remain resilient, which will likely reaffirm “the Fed’s new hawkish tone” and keep interest rates on hold in the near term. While the S&P 500 recently faced its “worst month in nearly a year” due to inflation concerns and AI-related volatility, BlackRock remains overweight on U.S. equities.

They argue that “strong corporate earnings, driven in part by the AI theme,” are supported by a favorable macro backdrop and reduced policy uncertainty. However, they warn that traditional, “static strategic asset allocation no longer suffices.”

Instead, they suggest a scenario-based approach to navigate potential outcomes ranging from an “AI productivity boom” to a “higher risk premium for U.S. assets” caused by geopolitical fragmentation.

Ultimately, BlackRock favors being granular, noting that “the AI buildout keeps rolling on,” while staying alert to “sticky inflation” that may limit future rate cuts.

Upcoming Economic Data

Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday.

• Initial Jobless Claims: Seasonal initial claims for the week ending Feb. 28 remained unchanged at 213,000, while the four-week moving average dropped to 215,750.
• Labor Productivity: Fourth-quarter nonfarm productivity rose 2.8% as output increased 2.6% and total hours worked slightly dipped by 0.2%.
• Import Price Index: U.S. import prices increased 0.2% in January, though they remain down 0.1% on a 12-month basis as a 13.4% plunge in fuel costs over the past year has offset rising nonfuel prices.
• Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman will speak at 1:15 p.m., followed by Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 2.41% to hover around $76.46 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.62% to hover around $5,173.35 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.12% higher at the 98.8850 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.91% higher at $72,514.17 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.

Asian markets closed higher on Thursday, as China’s CSI 300, Australia's ASX 200, Japan's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, South Korea's Kospi, and India’s Nifty 50 indices rose. European markets were also higher in early trade.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock