Equity Futures Edge Higher Premarket Wednesday After Better-Than-Expected Jobless Claims Report

09:09 AM EST, 12/31/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were edging higher premarket Wednesday following a better-than-expected weekly US jobless claims report.

Ahead of the last trading session of 2025, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.01%, while the S&P and Nasdaq futures were trading around 0.1% higher.

Trading volume was tepid ahead of the shuttering of worldwide markets Thursday, and many investors taking a New Years' Day holiday break.

Weekly US initial jobless claims came in at 199,000 new claims, lower than the 218,000 expected by analysts and the 214,000 from last week.

Adding to a cautious mood was Tuesday's release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy setting meeting. The minutes from the Dec. 9-10 Federal Open Market Committee showed many considering maintaining the current rate "for some time."

Oil continued to gain amid lingering conflict fears in the Middle East, the Caribbean, and West Africa. US West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were up 0.9% to $58.44 per barrel while benchmark North Sea Brent crude futures were 0.8% higher to $61.82 per barrel.

Asian markets were mixed at the close, with Japan's Nikkei 225 down 0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng sliding 0.9%, and China's Shanghai Composite up 0.1%.

In Europe, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.1% while Germany's DAX was 0.6% higher, France's CAC 40 was down 0.2% and Spain's IBEX 35 was down 0.3% in the afternoon session.

Among gainers were Anghami (ANGH) , up nearly 70% pre-bell after the company reported a boost in revenue, and Oriental Rise (ORIS) , up 34%, a day after the company said it signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire a controlling equity stake in Hubei Daguan Tea Industry Group.

Nike (NKE) shares were up 2.9%, following news that its Chief Executive Elliott Hill bought 16,388 Class B common shares at $61.10.

Decliners included Ekso Bionics (EKSO), down 10% after Tuesday's spike. Chinese EV makers Xpeng (XPEV) and Nio (NIO) were down 3.6% and 3.2%, respectively following the previous session's increases.

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