Futures are down ahead of a second day of testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Capitol Hill. New jobless claims fell to 360,000 last week from 386,000 the prior week. Here’s what we’re watching ahead of Thursday’s trading action.

Prague-based Avast primarily makes free and premium security software, offering desktop and mobile-device protection.

Prague-based Avast primarily makes free and premium security software, offering desktop and mobile-device protection.

Photo: david w cerny/Reuters

  • U.S. Bancorp logged a larger profit in the latest quarter. The bank also reclaimed funds it had set aside for credit losses due to the pandemic. Shares ticked up 0.4%.
  • Is the steam coming out of meme stocks? AMC Entertainment, one favorite of the Reddit trading crowd, lost 6% premarket. If matched once trading begins, the stock would extend a decline of 43% over the past month. GameStop and BlackBerry shares have both dropped by almost a quarter in that time.
  • UnitedHealth slipped 0.4% after reporting a rise in revenue and operating profits in the second quarter from a year before.
  • Johnson & Johnson is recalling most of its Neutrogena and Aveeno spray sunscreens from U.S. stores after detecting benzene, a potentially cancer-causing chemical, in some samples. Its shares slipped 0.6% premarket.
  • Netflix shares rose 2%. The streaming company, which reached a licensing deal over animated films with Universal this week, has been on a tear of late, gaining 11% for the month through Wednesday.
  • Oil prices extended a recent drop. Brent, the benchmark, fell 1.8% to just under $72 a barrel a day after U.S. government data showed an unexpected rise in gasoline supplies.
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