Editor’s Note: The ETFs tracking benchmark indices, lede, economic data, and the headline were updated in the story.
U.S. stocks look set to open in the red on Thursday, with futures of the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 indices falling, following Wednesday’s lower close.
On the economic data front, weekly initial jobless claims fell by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 197,000 for the week ending Oct. 3, pointing to continued resilience in the U.S. labor market. The print came in below expectations and pulled the four-week moving average down by 2,500 to 198,000.
Oil prices surged, with Brent futures hovering around $104 per barrel as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East intensified following reports that the Pentagon is preparing potential military strikes on Iran’s nuclear and energy targets. At the same time, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker was spotted on fire in the Gulf of Oman.
Meanwhile, Tehran maintains its stance that the critical Strait of Hormuz will not reopen under economic pressure, adding to supply disruption fears.
Minutes from the September FOMC meeting showed most Federal Reserve officials leaning toward another rate hike before year-end to combat persistent inflation pressures driven by energy costs, tariffs, and AI spending. However, markets are largely discounting an October move, pricing in over an 80% chance that the Fed holds rates steady at its next meeting.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 5.32%, and the 2-year Treasury bond yielded 4.79%, at the last check. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing in a 21.6% likelihood of the Fed hiking interest rates after its October meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.70% |
| S&P 500 | -0.35% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.52% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.77% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were lower in premarket trading on Thursday. The SPY fell by 0.36% at $774.40, while the QQQ declined 0.57% to $753.41.
Stocks In Focus
Applied Digital
- Applied Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:APLD) rose 3.95% in premarket trading on Thursday after posting better-than-expected financial results for the first quarter.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that APLD maintains a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms.
Levi Strauss
- Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) was 1.08% lower as it posted mixed third-quarter fiscal 2026 results after Wednesday’s closing bell.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that LEVI maintains a weak price trend in the long, short, and medium terms, with a good value score.
Marvell Technology
- Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) fell 1.60% despite announcing a “robust” multi-year outlook, with an expansion of nearly 4X in its TAM (total addressable market) and new financial targets through 2030 at its Investor Day hosted on Tuesday.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MRVL maintains a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a good growth score.
Micron Technology
- Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) dropped 1.45% in Thursday premarket as it faced potential production disruptions in Taiwan after 99% of voting union members at its Taoyuan plant backed strike authorization amid a dispute over bonuses and profit-sharing.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MU maintains a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a good quality score.
Caterpillar
- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) slipped 1.28% after the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Agriculture requested public comments on agricultural equipment markets, including potential anticompetitive behavior.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CAT maintains a weak price trend in the medium term but a strong trend in the long and short terms, with a poor value score.
Cues From Last Session
Industrials, materials and real estate led most S&P 500 sectors lower on Wednesday, though health care and consumer discretionary stocks bucked the trend to close higher.
Insights From Analysts
According to the BlackRock Investment Institute, it maintains a broader “risk-on stance”, anticipating continued strength in U.S. equities driven by strong fundamental tailwinds rather than runaway interest rate expectations.
BlackRock remains overweight on U.S. equities, citing robust corporate earnings powered by mega forces such as artificial intelligence and digital disruption. They note that global capital continues to pour into dollar-denominated assets, pointing out that foreign investors "poured nearly $1 trillion into U.S. equities and investment fund shares in the 12 months to July, including a record $426 billion in the second quarter alone."
On the broader economy, BlackRock believes market expectations for Federal Reserve monetary tightening have become overly aggressive. While bond markets recently priced in multiple rate hikes, BlackRock’s analysts assert: "We think that is too much."
They expect the U.S. dollar to stabilize or moderately weaken rather than continue a sustained bull run, stating that "with markets pricing more Fed tightening than we think will materialize, there is limited scope for a sustained dollar bull run." Consequently, BlackRock favors short- to medium-term Treasury yields over long-duration bonds.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday.
- Jobless Claims: First-time applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 197,000 for the week ending Oct. 3, while continuing claims rose by 17,000 to 1.716 million for the week ending Sept. 26.
- August’s monthly wholesale trade data will be out by 10:00 a.m., and St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem will deliver a speech at 1:40 p.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude Oil WTI futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 4% to hover around $91.81 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.34% to hover around $4,125.01 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.03% higher at the 102.27 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.1% lower at $83,059 per coin over the last 24 hours.
Asian markets traded lower on Thursday, as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and Japan’s Nikkei 225, alongside Australia’s S&P/ASX 200, South Korea’s Kospi, and India’s Nifty 50 declined. European markets were mostly lower in early trade.
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