08:54 AM EDT, 06/26/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were up ahead of Thursday's opening bell amid a deluge of economic data, including a report on quarterly economic growth, while traders continued to monitor geopolitical news from the Middle East.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.2%, S&P 500 futures were 0.4% higher, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.5%.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.3% at $66.61 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.2% higher at $65.06 per barrel.

The Q1 gross domestic product report, released at 8:30 am ET, showed a revised 0.5% decline for the quarter compared with estimates compiled by Bloomberg for an unchanged 0.2% decline.

The new unemployment claims bulletin, also released at 8:30 am, showed initial unemployment claims dropped to 236,000 in the week ended June 21 from 246,000 in the preceding week, compared with estimates for a smaller drop to 243,000. US trade in goods deficit widened to $96.59 billion in May from $86.97 billion previously, compared with estimates for a smaller deficit of $86.1 billion. New orders for durable goods increased by 16.4% in May versus estimates for a smaller 8.5% gain.

The pending home sales index, due at 10 am ET, is expected to show a 0.2% increase for May.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1.7% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.6% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.2% lower. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.3%, and Germany's DAX index was down 0.6% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, Cyngn ( CYN ) shares were 94% higher pre-bell after the company unveiled a collaboration with Nvidia ( NVDA ) on robotics for industrial applications. Kewaunee Scientific ( KEQU ) shares were up 26% after the company reported late Wednesday higher fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings and sales.

On the losing side, Nature's Sunshine Products (NATR) shares were 12% lower after the company said a secondary offering of about 2.9 million common shares was priced at $12 per share.