Traders Digest Jobless Claims Ahead of Amazon Earnings, With US Equity Futures Lower Pre-Bell

08:59 AM EST, 02/05/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were down ahead of Thursday's opening bell as traders digested labor market data ahead Amazon's (AMZN) earnings report.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.3% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.5%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.7% lower.

Amazon (AMZN) is scheduled to report earnings after the closing bell.

Oil prices were lower, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude down 2.5% at $67.76 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 2.5% lower at $63.49 per barrel.

The weekly jobless claims bulletin, released at 8:30 am ET, showed new unemployment claims of 231,000 in the week ended Jan. 31, up from 209,000 in the preceding week and above the estimates compiled by Bloomberg for 212,000.

The US Department of Labor's December Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, due at 10 am ET, is expected to show job openings of 7.25 million versus 7.146 million previously.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.9% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.1% higher, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.6% lower. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.5%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.7% lower in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, E.l.f. Beauty (ELF) stock was up 4% pre-bell after the company reported late Wednesday higher fiscal Q3 adjusted earnings and revenue in addition to raising its fiscal 2026 guidance. Brand Engagement Network (BNAI) shares were 31% higher after the company terminated a $50 million standby equity purchase deal with an affiliate of Yorkville Advisors Global.

On the losing side, Shell (SHEL) stock was down 1.9% after the company reported lower Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue. Fluence Energy (FLNC) shares were 13% lower, a day after the company reported a wider fiscal Q1 loss.

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