Dow futures muted on Thursday: 5 things to know before market opens

US stock futures are trading on a muted note on Thursday, a day after the Dow Jones index hit a new low for 2026 in the previous session.

Dow futures edged down by 21 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

The tepid numbers came as the Wall Street indices faced some strong action on Wednesday, after hotter-than-expected PPI data and the Fed's hawkish stance dragged the stocks down.

5 things to know before Wall Street opens

1. Oil prices are again dominating the headlines amid the conflict in the Middle East.

Brent crude price surged nearly 8% and is trading over $114 a barrel at the time of writing this report.

US WTI numbers have also gained and are hovering around $97 a barrel.

The sharp surge in oil prices followed Iranian missile strikes on Ras Laffan, home to Qatar’s key liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing hub.

Operations at the Ras Laffan facility, responsible for roughly one-fifth of global LNG supply, were halted after the attack.

The disruption fueled fresh volatility in energy markets, with European gas prices also jumping more than 35%.

2. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on March 18, keeping the benchmark federal funds rate in the 3.5%–3.75% range.

The FOMC voted 10-2 in favor of the hold, with Trump appointee Governor Stephen Miran dissenting.

The decision came against a backdrop of surging oil prices tied to the ongoing Iran conflict and a weak February jobs report.

The Fed also revised its inflation outlook upward, now projecting its preferred gauge at 2.7% by the end of 2026.

The updated dot plot showed the median FOMC member pencilling in just one rate cut for the year.

3. Micron stock witnessed a sharp sell-off after releasing its fiscal second-quarter results.

Despite beating the Wall Street estimates and posting record revenue, the memory giant is over 6% down in pre-market trading on Thursday.

The plunge came as Micron said it would raise its 2026 capital spending plan, a move that appeared to unsettle investors despite optimism around AI-driven demand.

4. Alibaba’s December-quarter results showed how expensive its AI pivot is becoming.

The tech giant missed estimates to post a revenue of 284.8 billion yuan, while the company's net income plunged 66% from a year earlier.

The numbers suggest Alibaba is sacrificing near-term profitability as it pours tens of billions of dollars into AI.

For investors, the key question is whether these investments can drive faster cloud growth and stronger adoption of AI products.

It also comes down to whether Alibaba can win a broader re-rating beyond its core e-commerce business.

5. Globally, fear sentiment dominated among the investors as most of the indexes witnessed a sharp sell-off.

European markets took a hit on Thursday as the conflict involving Iran intensified.

The Stoxx 600 dropped more than 2% by mid-morning in London, with losses across almost every major market.

The story was similar for Asia, where tech stocks led the losers with South Korea’s memory chip leaders SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics dropping 2.23% and 1.8%.