09:27 AM EDT, 09/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US stocks look set to open higher Thursday following a lower-than-expected jobless claims report and a soaring manufacturing indicator.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.5%, and Nasdaq futures were rising 0.9%.

Oil prices were moving lower, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude each declining 0.1%.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei was up 1.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4%, and China's Shanghai Composite dropped 1.2%. Meanwhile in Europe's early afternoon session, the UK's FTSE 100 edged 0.2% higher, while Germany's DAX climbed 1% and France's CAC 40 was up 0.9%.

The number of weekly initial jobless claims declined to 231,000 in the week ended Sept. 13 from 264,000 the previous week. Analysts were expecting 240,000, according to Bloomberg.

The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index, which gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, rebounded to 23.2 in September from minus 0.3 in August, easily beating analysts' forecast of 1.7 as polled by Bloomberg.

In equities, shares 89bio (ETNB) surged 85% after the company said Thursday it has agreed to be acquired by Roche for $2.4 billion, or $14.50 per share, in cash. Shares of Aptevo Therapeutics ( APVO ) rose 80% after a 6% loss the previous session. Shares of Intel ( INTC ) jumped 30% after Nvidia ( NVDA ) said Thursday it will invest $5 billion in Intel ( INTC ) stock at $23.28 per share as part of a collaboration to develop custom data center and personal computing products.

On the losing side, shares of Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust ( WHLR ) fell 24%, adding to a nearly 10% decline the previous day. Shares of Salarius Pharmaceuticals ( SLRX ) tumbled 20%, adding to a 2.4% loss Wednesday. Paranovus Entertainment Technology's ( PAVS ) stock shed 20% after a nearly 10% gain the previous session.