09:16 AM EDT, 04/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US stocks look set to open sharply lower in Thursday's trading session as President Trump's Wednesday night address on Middle East war progress failed to instill confidence in the markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 1.3%, S&P 500 futures were dropping 1.4%, and Nasdaq futures were falling 1.9%.

Oil prices jumped higher with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude rising 11.9% to $112.16 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 12% to $112.15 a barrel.

US initial jobless claims fell to a level of 202,000 in the week ended March 28 from a upwardly revised 211,000 level in the previous week, compared with forecasts of a 212,000 increase, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei tumbled 2.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.7%, and China's Shanghai Composite also fell 0.7%. Meanwhile in Europe's early afternoon session, the UK's FTSE 100 was off 0.5%, Germany's DAX dropped 2.3%, and France's CAC fell 1.3%.

In equities, TMD Energy ( TMDE ) shares soared 62% in Thursday premarket activity, following a 4.5% loss Wednesday.

Battalion Oil (BATL) stock was 38% higher after the company said it has launched an offering of approximately 2.7 million common shares on behalf of a selling stockholder.

AleAnna ( ANNA ) shares were up 19%, more than erasing Wednesday's 12% loss.

On the losing side, shares of CoinShares (CSHR) shed 19%, a day after the digital asset investment firm began trading on the Nasdaq stock market.

Nordson ( NDSN ) stock was down 1%.

Texxon ( NPT ) shares dropped 17%, following a 46% gain on Wednesday.