09:08 AM EDT, 06/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were flat before Thursday's opening bell as traders stayed on the sidelines ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, S&P 500 futures, and Nasdaq futures were nearly unchanged.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.5% at $65.15 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude up 0.5% at $63.14 per barrel.

The international trade bulletin, released at 8:30 am ET, showed the US trade deficit narrowed to $61.61 billion in April from $138.32 billion in March, compared with estimates compiled by Bloomberg for a $66 billion deficit. The jobless claims report showed initial unemployment claims increased to 247,000 in the week ended May 31 from 239,000 in the prior week, compared with estimates for a drop to 235,000.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.5% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.1% higher, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.2% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.2%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.3% higher in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, Verint Systems ( VRNT ) stock was up 18% after the company reported late Wednesday fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue that topped analysts' estimates. IperionX ( IPX ) shares were 21% higher after the company said late Wednesday in a Form 6-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it won a contract worth up to $99 million from the US Department of Defense for titanium components and parts.

On the losing side, BitFuFu ( FUFU ) shares were 10% lower after the company reported it swung to a Q1 loss amid lower revenue.