The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside following the downturn seen over the course of the previous session.

The advance by the futures came after the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back by more than expected in the week ended August 3rd.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 233,000, a decrease of 17,000 from the previous week’s revised level of to 250,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 240,000 from the 249,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The bigger than expected decline came a week after jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 258,000 in the week ended August 5, 2023.

The data may help ease concerns about the strength of the labor market, which have contributed to recent selling on Wall Street.

Among individual stocks, shares of Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the drug maker reported better than expected second quarter results and raised its full-year revenue guidance.

Athletic apparel company Under Armour (NYSE:UAA) is also likely to see initial strength after reporting an unexpected fiscal third quarter profit.

On the other hand, shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) is seeing significant pre-market weakness after reporting disappointing second quarter results and announcing a $9.1 billion write down tied to its TV networks.

After extending yesterday’s rebound early in the session, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages pulled back well off their early highs and into negative territory.

The major averages ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq slumped 171.05 points or 1.1 percent to 16,195.81, the S&P 500 slid 40.53 points or 0.8 percent to 5,199.50 and the Dow fell 234.21 points or 0.6 percent to 38,763.45.

Stocks initially continued to benefit from bargain hunting, as traders picked up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the recent sell-off.

Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy continued to hang over the markets.

“We expect further volatility in the near-term and look to the 5,000 range as important support for the Index, as it represents key retracement levels and the 200-DMA,” John Lynch, Chief Investment Officer for Comerica Wealth Management said of the S&P 500. “We continue to view the S&P 500 to be fairly valued in the 5,250 range by yearend.”

Among individual stocks, shares of Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) plunged by 20.1 percent after the technology company reported weaker than expected fiscal fourth quarter earnings.

Disney (NYSE:DIS) also showed a significant move to the downside even though the entertainment giant reported better than expected fiscal third quarter earnings.

Meanwhile, grocery delivery company Instacart (NASDAQ:CART) surged after reporting second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Gold stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.2 percent to its lowest closing level in a month. The weakness among gold stocks came despite a modest increase by the price of the precious metal.

Substantial weakness also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent slump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Computer hardware stocks also showed a considerable move to the downside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index tumbling by 2.8 percent.

Housing, airline and pharmaceutical stocks also showed notable moves to the downside, while significant strength remained visible among telecom stocks.