(Editor’s note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the lede, the economic data, and the headline were updated in the story.)

U.S. stock futures dropped on Thursday after closing higher on Wednesday. Futures of all the major benchmark indices were lower.

The U.S. goods and services trade deficit widened to $70.3 billion in December, driven by a decline in exports and a rise in imports. The widening gap comes alongside a resilient labor market, as initial jobless claims for the week ending February 14 dropped to 206,000—falling more than anticipated from the previous week’s revised level.

Traders analyzed the Federal Reserve‘s January meeting minutes, which exposed significant disagreements among officials concerning the future of interest rates.

Although the records indicated that some policymakers discussed possible rate increases to combat persistent inflation, market participants maintained their outlook for two rate reductions before the year concludes.

Additionally,  indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the U.S. stalled in Geneva psuhing the oil prices higher.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.10%, and the two-year bond was at 3.47%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 94% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.

Index	Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones	-0.12%
S&P 500	-0.08%
Nasdaq 100	-0.08%
Russell 2000	-0.24%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were lower in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was down 0.28% at $684.37, while the QQQ declined 0.41% to $603.30.

Stocks In Focus

DoorDash

• DoorDash Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH) jumped 13.57% in premarket on Thursday despite posting weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results, as it expects the first quarter marketplace gross order value (GOV) in a range of $31 billion to $31.8 billion and adjusted EBITDA in a range of $675 million to $775 million.

• DASH maintains a weaker price trend over the long, short, and medium terms, with a solid growth ranking, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.

eBay

• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) soared 7.87% after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results. It also announced a definitive agreement with Etsy Inc. (NYSE:ETSY) to acquire fashion marketplace Depop.

• EBAY maintains a stronger price trend over the short and medium terms but a weak trend in the long term with a moderate quality ranking, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.

Lockheed Martin

• Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) rose 0.47% as it announced that it has been awarded a foreign military sale contract through Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to deliver C-130J training devices and upgrades to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

• LMT maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.

Interactive Strength

• Interactive Strength Inc. (NASDAQ:TRNR) gained 12.47% following a definitive agreement to acquire game-based connected fitness company Ergatta, Inc.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TRNR maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms.

Walmart

• Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) tumbled 2.79% as it reported adjusted earnings of $0.74 per share on revenue of $190.7 billion slighty above the analysts’ expectations of 73 cents per share on revenue of $190.43 billion. For the current quarter, Walmart said it expects adjusted EPS between 63 cents and 65 cents, which is below the average analyst EPS estimate compiled by FactSet of 68 cents.
  

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that WMT maintains a strong price trend over the long, medium, and short terms, with a solid quality ranking.

Cues From Last Session

Consumer discretionary, energy, and information technology stocks led the S&P 500’s gains on Wednesday, though real estate and utilities fell.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Dow Jones	0.26%	49,662.66
S&P 500	0.56%	6,881.31
Nasdaq Composite	0.78%	22,753.64
Russell 2000	0.45%	2,658.61

Insights From Analysts

Jeremy Siegel maintains a constructive outlook on the U.S. economy, suggesting that recent data provide a “backdrop for the expansion” of the bull market rather than its derailment.

He highlights a “sweet spot” in the labor market where jobless claims signal resilience without overheating, alongside a significant “near-2% annual gain in weekly pay” that is meaningfully improving consumer purchasing power.

This cooling inflation and rising real income, he argues, creates an environment where the Federal Reserve has ample room to continue lowering interest rates.

While “AI-driven disruption fears” have introduced market anxiety and repriced entire industries, Siegel views this volatility as a typical reaction to technological revolutions.

He contends that these advancements will ultimately “expand productivity and real incomes” across diverse sectors like financials and healthcare. Rather than a recessionary threat, he interprets the accelerating output per hour as a “prosperity signal” that could even make a four-day workweek viable.

For investors, he sees valuation support in the “continued healthy market rotation” toward non-tech sectors trading at reasonable multiples.

Upcoming Economic Data

Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday.

• Initial Jobless Claims: For the week ending February 14, initial claims for unemployment benefits fell to 206,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the prior week’s revised level of 229,000.
• U.S. Trade Deficit: The nation’s international trade deficit rose by $17.3 billion in December to $70.3 billion, as monthly exports of goods like industrial supplies fell while imports of capital goods and petroleum products increased.
• Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari will speak at 9:00 a.m., and December’s leading economic index data will be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.

Commodities, Gold, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 1.20% to hover around $65.83 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.66% to hover around $5,010.58 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.11% lower at the 97.5940 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.75% lower at $66,991.78 per coin.

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, as China’s CSI 300 and India’s Nifty 50 indices fell. On the other hand, Japan's Nikkei 225, South Korea's Kospi, Australia's ASX 200, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng indices closed higher. European markets were mostly lower in early trade.

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