09:13 AM EST, 03/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US stocks were treading water ahead of Wednesday's trading session as investors look for any signs of US tariff compromises, and parse employment data that came in well below expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.07% higher, S&P 500 futures were down 0.02%, and Nasdaq futures were rising 0.20%.

Non-farm payroll figures for February registered a gain of only 77,000, which is far below the analyst forecast of 141,000, according to Bloomberg.

Oil prices were moving sharply lower, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude dropping 2.5% and 1.9% respectively.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.23%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 2.84%, and China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.53%. Meanwhile in Europe's early afternoon session, the UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.58 %, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 jumped 3.30% and 2.16% respectively.

In equities, shares of ARB IOT Group ( ARBB ) soared 79% in Wednesday's premarket session after it said late Tuesday that it has signed an artificial intelligence products supply agreement with Malaysia's Gajah Kapitalan. Chimerix's ( CMRX ) stock jumped 70% after Jazz Pharmaceuticals said Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire the biopharmaceutical company for $8.55 per share, or approximately $935 million. Cycurion ( CYCU ) shares surged 38% after it said Wednesday that it has been awarded three multi-year contracts worth up to $6 million in revenue over six years. BioXcel Therapeutics ( BTAI ) shares climbed 14% after it said after hours Tuesday that it has closed its registered direct offering of 4 million shares for gross proceeds of approximately $14 million. And ZyVersa Therapeutics' ( ZVSA ) stock was up 2% after it reported study data Wednesday that it said supports its Inflammasome ASC Inhibitor IC 100 as a treatment option for patients with obesity.

On the losing side, shares of ReTo Eco-Solutions ( RETO ) plunged 26%, more than wiping out Tuesday's 16% gain. LiveRamp's ( RAMP ) stock was flat following a marginal loss on Tuesday. AeroVironment ( AVAV ) shares also tumbled 22% after it reported overnight lower fiscal Q3 non-GAAP earnings and revenue from a year earlier. And GD Culture Group's ( GDC ) stock fell 4% after it announced Wednesday that it has priced a private placement for gross proceeds of approximately $1 million.