U.S. index futures fell in pre-market trading on Thursday, signaling persistent market volatility. Following a tumultuous Wednesday, these movements suggest that economic and geopolitical concerns will continue to keep investors cautious in the coming months.

At 4:43 AM ET, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) fell 95 points or 0.24%. S&P 500 futures lost 0.20%, and Nasdaq-100 futures declined 0.02%. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 3.918%.

In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude for September fell 0.20% to $75.06 per barrel. Brent crude for October dropped 0.31% to around $78.09 per barrel. Prices paused recent 3% gains due to Middle East tensions. Despite the volatility, with the deaths of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders and potential Iran attacks, supply was unaffected. Libya’s production decreased due to protests, and U.S. oil stocks fell more than expected. Analysts see an upside price risk due to geopolitical factors and weather conditions.

On the U.S. economic calendar for Thursday, initial jobless claims for the week ending August 3 will be released at 8:30 AM ET, with a forecast of 240,000 claims, below the previously expected 249,000. At 10 AM, the wholesale inventories report for June will be released, expected to show 0.2% growth compared to the previous month’s 0.6%. At 3 PM, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin will speak.

Asia-Pacific markets showed mixed variations. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.74%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4%, and South Korea’s KOSPI decreased 0.45%. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.8%. The Bank of Japan’s interest rate decision and Japan’s trade data influenced fluctuations.

Japan’s current account surplus was 1.533 trillion yen ($10.2 billion), below the expected 1.789 trillion yen. SoftBank announced a share buyback of up to 500 billion yen, with its shares down 3.5%. Lasertec rose 22.55% after a 39.7% increase in net sales. The Reserve Bank of India kept rates at 6.5%.

European markets opened lower, with technology and mining sectors leading declines. This drop follows a recovery in regional stocks on Wednesday. Today’s focus includes earnings from companies like Munich Re (TG:A289EQ), Siemens (TG:SIE) and Allianz (TG:ALV), with no major economic data releases expected.

Siemens reported a quarterly operating profit of around $3.3 billion (€3 billion), up 11% from last year and exceeding analyst expectations. Growth was driven by high demand in electrification and software, though automation faced challenges. The company maintained its annual forecast, expecting revenue growth between 4% and 8%.

On Wednesday, stocks initially rose but lost ground during trading, with major indices closing in negative territory. The Dow Jones fell 234.21 points or 0.60% to 38,763.45 points, the S&P 500 slid 40.53 points or 0.77% to 5,199.50 points, and the Nasdaq declined 171.05 points or 1.05% to 16,195.81 points. Stocks initially benefited from bargain hunting, but persistent concerns about the U.S. economic outlook continued to cast uncertainty over markets, leading investors to adopt a more cautious stance.

In earnings reports before the market opens, Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY), Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX), Medical Properties Trust Inc (NYSE:MPW), Vistra Energy (NYSE:VST), Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG), Datadog (NASDAQ:DDOG), Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG), Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON), CyberArk (NASDAQ:CYBR), Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX), SharkNinja (NYSE:SN), Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:DNUT), Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA), and more are expected to report.

After the market closes, results are anticipated from Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA), Unity (NYSE:U), Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD), SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN), Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD), Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB), CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK), Array Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ARRY), TaskUs (NASDAQ:TASK), Five9 (NASDAQ:FIVN), B2Gold Corp. (AMEX:BTG), Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG), e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF), Honest Company (NASDAQ:HNST), and others.

Allianz (TG:ALV)
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