Traders cautiously treaded water Thursday after days of euphoria in the wake of the inauguration of President Donald Trump and a flurry of pro-business policy announcements.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures declined 0.1% and Nasdaq futures fell 0.4%.

Oil prices stayed mostly flat after days of declines, with the front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent up 0.1% to $79.05 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude up less than 0.1% to $75.46 per barrel.

Traders were zeroing in on weekly jobless claims reports to be released before the opening bell. Analysts expect claims to be nearly flat at 218,000 after a larger-than-expected jump of 14,000 to 217,000 a week ago.

After the bell, investors will be watching weekly updates on natural gas prices, petroleum reserves, and the Federal Reserve balance sheet scheduled for later in the day.

Among the big companies releasing earnings today are GE Aerospace (GE), railway giant Union Pacific (UNP) and CSX (CSX), and copper producer Freeport McMoran (FCX)-as well as dozens of more large-cap companies reporting Q4 numbers.

Asian stock markets were mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 up around 1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 0.4%, and China's Shanghai Composite finishing up 0.5%.

European bourses inched up, with the UK's FTSE 100 up 0.2%, and Germany's DAX up 0.3% in the early afternoon session.

In equities, shares of luxury apparel maker Vince Holding (VNCE) were up 48% pre-bell following news of the acquisition of a majority stake by investor P180. Vigil Neuroscience (VIGL) was up more than 11% after reporting positive results of its potential Alzheimer's treatment.

Among losers, American Airlines (AAL) shares fell more than 9% despite a Q4 earnings report that beat earnings expectations.