09:23 AM EST, 03/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures turned higher ahead of Thursday's opening bell as traders digested a string of readings on the US economy, including the weekly jobless claims report, while looking ahead to the second day of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's monetary policy testimony before the US Congress.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.3%, S&P 500 futures increased 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures rose 0.6%.

Oil prices were lower, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude down 0.6% at $82.47 and US West Texas Intermediate crude down 0.8% at $78.53, after official data showed a 1.4-million-barrel weekly increase in commercial US crude stockpiles.

The US trade deficit, released at 8:30 am ET, widened to $67.43 billion in January from $64.17 billion in December, compared with estimates for a $63.5 billion gap. New unemployment claims came in unchanged at 217,000 for the week ended March 2, compared with estimates for a drop to 216,000 claims. Q4 nonfarm productivity was unrevised at a 3.2% growth for the second estimate versus 3.1% expected, while unit labor costs were revised down to a 0.4% growth from 0.5% compared with the 0.7% increase expected.

Powell is scheduled to appear before the Senate Banking Committee at 10 am ET.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1.2% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.3% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.4% lower. Meanwhile, UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.1% and Germany's DAX index rose 0.4% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, Victoria's Secret (VSCO) shares fell 29% after the company issued fiscal year 2024 sales guidance that trailed analysts' projections. Ciena (CIEN) shares were down 11% after the company posted lower fiscal Q1 revenue.

On the winning side, Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) shares rose 7% on media reports that the company's obesity drug showed promising results in a phase 1 trial. Rush Street Interactive ( RSI ) shares were up 33% after the company reported it swung to Q4 adjusted earnings on higher sales.