Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Dow Jones Futures Slip As Jobless Claims Fall To 205,000— Micron, FedEx, Constellation Energy In Focus (UPDATED)

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

U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday following Wednesday’s declines. Futures of the major benchmark indices were lower.

Initial jobless claims fell to 205,000 for the week ending March 14, underscoring a tight labor market.

Simultaneously, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey showed regional factory activity continued to expand, with the general activity index rising for the third straight month to 18.1.

However, internal survey data signaled caution, as over half of manufacturers expect energy market conditions to worsen, and input price indexes climbed to 44.7, nearly erasing last month’s declines.

Markets processed the Federal Reserve's widely anticipated decision to maintain interest rates at 3.50%–3.75% for a third consecutive meeting. The FOMC highlighted that despite solid economic expansion, inflation stays somewhat elevated and job growth remains sluggish.

President Donald Trump warned Iran that continued strikes on Qatar’s LNG facilities would face major retaliation, while simultaneously signaling that Israel would cease targeting Iran’s vital South Pars gas field.

Following talks with Trump and the Qatari Emir, French President Emmanuel Macron urged an immediate end to infrastructure attacks to protect civilians and stabilize global energy supplies.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.28%, and the two-year bond was at 3.80%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 95.9% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged later today.

Index	Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones	-0.31%
S&P 500	-0.34%
Nasdaq 100	-0.46%
Russell 2000	-0.58%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were lower in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was down 0.39% at $658.94, while the QQQ declined 0.52% to $591.79.

Stocks In Focus

Micron Technology

• Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) fell 4.01% in premarket on Thursday despite reporting better-than-expected financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2026. It expects fiscal 2026 capital expenditure to be above $25 billion.

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

Rocket Lab

• Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ:RKLB) rose 1.83% after securing a 190 million contract for a block buy of 20 hypersonic test flights with its HASTE launch vehicle for the Test Resource Management Center, cementing Hypersonics Leadership with the Department of War.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that RKLB maintains a weak trend in the short term but a strong price trend over the long and medium terms.

FedEx

• FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) was 0.091% lower as analysts expect it to report earnings of $4.13 per share on revenue of $23.42 billion, after the closing bell.

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

Guardian Pharmacy Services

• Guardian Pharmacy Services Inc. (NYSE:GRDN) dropped 10.06% after announcing a proposed public offering of 5 million shares.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that GRDN maintains a weak trend in the short term but a strong price trend over the long and medium terms, with a poor value score.

Constellation Energy

• Constellation Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:CEG) rose 0.088% after it announced an agreement to sell PJM Generation Assets to LS Power.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CEG maintains a weak price trend in the medium term but a strong trend in the short and long terms, with a moderate value ranking.

Cues From Last Session

Materials, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples sectors led the S&P 500’s decline on Wednesday as the Dow Jones dropped over 750 points following new economic reports and Fed remarks.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Dow Jones	-1.63%	46.225.15
S&P 500	-1.36%	6.624.70
Nasdaq Composite	-1.46%	22.152.42
Russell 2000	-1.64%	2.478,64

Insights From Analysts

BlackRock maintains a constructive yet cautious outlook on the U.S. economy, characterized by a “visible global macro shock” stemming from the Middle East conflict.

While the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has intensified inflationary pressures, BlackRock believes a “feedback loop” could emerge where political and economic fallout eventually limits the conflict’s duration.

They note that “if current crude oil prices persist for six months, we see a notable drag on global growth and boost to inflation.” Regarding the U.S. stock market, BlackRock remains tactically overweight, expressing a clear preference for U.S. equities over international counterparts.

This conviction is rooted in the “AI theme supported by strong earnings, resilient profit margins and healthy balance sheets.” They anticipate the market will be underpinned by “continued Federal Reserve easing into 2026 and reduced policy uncertainty”.

However, they warn that traditional diversifiers are currently “challenged,” suggesting that long-dated Treasuries no longer provide the necessary “portfolio ballast” against falling equities in this persistent high-inflation environment

Upcoming Economic Data

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

• Jobless Claims: Initial claims for the week ending March 14 dropped by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 205,000.
• Manufacturing Expansion: The Philadelphia Fed's general activity index increased to 18.1, beating February's 16.3 reading.
• January’s wholesale inventories and new home sales data will be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 1.47% to hover around $96.86 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar fell 2.20% to hover around $4,712.92 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.15% higher at the 100.2400 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 5.37% lower at $70,065.66 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.

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

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