(RTTNews) - After coming under considerable pressure over the course of the previous session, stocks are likely to see further downside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.6 percent.
Concerns about the escalation of the war in the Middle East may weigh on Wall Street following attacks on critical energy infrastructure across the region.
Israel bombed Iran's South Pars natural gas fields and oil facilities in Asaluyeh, while an Iranian missile attack on Qatar's Ras Laffan energy complex caused "extensive damage," according to the country's state-run energy firm.
President Donald Trump threatened in a post on Truth Social to "massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before" if there are further attacks on Qatar.
After soaring to nearly $120 a barrel following the latest attacks, Brent crude oil futures have given back some ground but remain above $113 a barrel.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing an unexpected dip in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended March 14th.
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 205,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 213,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 210,750, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 211,500.
Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, largely offsetting the upward move seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside, with the Dow and the S&P 500 dropping to nearly four-month lows.
The major averages ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Dow plunged 768.11 points or 1.6 percent to 46,225.15, the Nasdaq tumbled 327.11 points or 1.5 percent to 22,152.42 and the S&P 500 slumped 91.39 points or 1.4 percent to 6,624.70.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index plummeted by 3.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dove by 2.0 percent.
The major European markets have also shown significant moves to the downside on the day. The German DAX Index is down by 2.9 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 2.7 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 2.2 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.23 to $96.55 a barrel after inching up $0.11 to $96.32 barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after tumbling $112 to $4,896.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are plummeting $283.60 to $4,612.60 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.99 yen versus the 159.86 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1485 compared to yesterday's $1.1450.
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