09:21 AM EDT, 03/27/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US stocks look set to open higher in Wednesday's trading session ahead of a relatively quiet day on the economic calendar as many investors look ahead to Thursday's gross domestic product and initial jobless claims reports, as well as a key inflation gauge reading Friday.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.4%, S&P 500 futures were rising 0.5%, and Nasdaq futures were moving 0.6% higher.

The Energy Information Administration, which measures the weekly change in the number of barrels of commercial crude oil held by US firms, is slated to release its latest data at 10:00 am ET. Stockpiles for the week ending March 22 are expected to decline by nearly 1 million barrels, after dropping by nearly 2 million barrels the previous week. It would be the third straight week of declines for US crude oil inventories.

Coming out on Thursday, weekly initial jobless claims are expected to rise to 212,000 from 210,000, while Q4 GDP is expected to remain unchanged from the previous quarter at 3.2%, according to Investing.com. Meanwhile, Friday's core PCE price Index reading for February is expected to remain steady from January at 2.8%.

Oil prices were moving lower, with front-month global benchmarks North Sea Brent crude declining 0.6% to $85.15 per barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude declining 0.6% to $81.10 per barrel.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.9%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4%, and China's Shanghai Composite dropped 1.3%. Meanwhile in Europe's early afternoon session, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.3%, while Germany's DAX 30 was up 0.7% and France's CAC 40 was up 0.5%.

On the winning side, shares of iBio (IBIO) soared nearly 129% in recent premarket activity Wednesday after it said Tuesday it signed a securities purchase deal for a private investment in public equity financing with expected gross proceeds of approximately $15 million. MariaDB ( MRDB ) shares jumped 76% after Progress Software ( PRGS ) said it is considering acquiring the cloud database company for $0.60 per share. Lixte Biotechnology ( LIXT ) shares surged 66% after it published pre-clinical data showing that its lead clinical compound LB-100 can force cancer cells to give up their cancer-causing properties.

Verb Technology's ( VERB ) stock advanced 29% after it said it signed a collaboration deal with TikTok Shop for livestream shopping services. And shares of NovoCure ( NVCR ) climbed 14% after it said Wednesday that its Tumor Treating Fields therapy for brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer met its primary endpoint in a phase 3 trial.

On the losing side, shares of Gamida Cell ( GMDA ) lost 77% after it said it signed a restructuring support agreement with certain funds managed by its principal lender Highbridge Capital Management. Direct Digital ( DRCT ) shares tumbled 48%, adding to an 8% loss on Tuesday, and after it said swung to a loss and reported lower-than-expected revenue in Q4. LuxUrban Hotels' ( LUXH ) stock tumbled 30%, adding to nearly 8% loss the previous session. JOANN (JOAN) shares shed another 26%, adding to a 6% loss on Tuesday. And shares of GameStop Corp. ( GME ) dropped 15% after it reported fiscal Q4 earnings late Tuesday that fell short of analyst expectations.