08:09 AM EDT, 10/31/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US stock futures were tracking lower in Thursday's premarket session as investors await key inflation and employment data coming out later in the morning.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were off 0.5%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.68%, and Nasdaq futures were moving 0.81% lower.

Oil prices were moving higher, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude rising 0.49% and 0.46% respectively.

The monthly and annual Core Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index for September, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, will be released at 8:30 am ET. The monthly PCE is expected to rise to 0.3% from 0.1% in August, while annual inflation is expected to decrease to 2.6% from 2.7% the previous month, according to Bloomberg.

Initial and continuing jobless claims will also be released at 8:30 am ET. Claims are expected to rise to 229,00 from 227,000 the previous week, while continuing jobless claims are expected to decline to 1,890,000 from 1,897,000, according to Bloomberg.

In equities, shares of Root (ROOT) soared 82% in Thursday's premarket after it reported Wednesday that it swung to a Q3 profit and posted higher total revenue compared with a year earlier. Tenon Medical's ( TNON ) surged 34% after it said Thursday that initial clinical cases using its new Catamaran SE SI Joint Fixation Device found that the new implant provides a 30% reduction in implant width compared with the original device. And shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals ( AVDL ) advanced more than 27% after it said a court ruled in favor of the Food and Drug Administration against a lawsuit brought by Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) regarding the FDA's approval of Lumryz oxybate treatment.

On the losing side, shares of Matinas BioPharma ( MTNB ) plunged 54% after it said Thursday that it will slash its workforce by 80% effective immediately and that it has halted all product development activities to conserve cash. The company said the layoffs were a result of the termination of negotiations regarding a non-binding term sheet for the global rights to MAT2203 from the prospective partner. And Equillium ( EQ ) shares tumbled 44% after the company said Thursday that Ono Pharmaceutical decided to let expire an option to acquire Equillium's ( EQ ) rights to itolizumab. And shares of MDJM ( MDJH ) fell 47% following a slight gain the previous session.