08:08 AM EDT, 03/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US stock futures are trending modestly higher in Thursday's premarket activity after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and ahead of a slew of economic data to be released later this morning, including jobless claims, manufacturing reports, and existing home sales figures.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.2%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures were rising 0.8%.

Oil prices were moving lower, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude each declining 0.5%.

The initial jobless claims report, which measures the number of people who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time during the past week, is expected to rise to 212,000 from a lower-than-expected 209,000 last week, according to Investing.com.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Manufacturing Index, which rates the relative level of general business conditions in Philadelphia, is expected to come in at -2.6 for March, compared with 5.2 the previous month.

The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, which measures the activity level of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector, is expected to decline to 51.8 for March from 52.2 in February. A reading above 50 indicates expansion while anything below that indicates contraction.

Existing home sales, which measures the change in the annualized number of existing residential buildings that were sold during the previous month, are expected to decline to 3.95 million for February from 4 million in January.

On the winning side, shares of Kaival Brands Innovations Group ( KAVL ) jumped nearly 76% in Thursday's premarket activity, more than erasing an 11% loss from Wednesday. Lufax ( LU ) shares advanced more than 43% after its board voted to recommend a special dividend of $2.42 per American depositary share, and shares of CuriosityStream ( CURI ) climbed 35% a day after it reported a narrower Q4 net loss per share and higher revenue from a year earlier.

On the losing side, shares of Movella Holdings ( MVLA ) fell 59% after it said late Wednesday that it voluntarily delisted its shares from the Nasdaq stock market. Tourmaline Bio ( TRML ) shares lost 35% after an 11% gain in the previous session. And shares of Five Below ( FIVE ) dropped 12% after the company's fiscal Q4 earnings and revenue results fell short of analyst forecasts.