The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Thursday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction after moving mostly higher over the two previous sessions.

Traders may take a step back to assess the near-term outlook for the markets following the volatility seen earlier in the week.

Stocks pulled back on Monday after last week’s week rally only to regain ground during relatively choppy trading on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Optimism about another interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week helped the major averages more than offset Monday’s decline.

The futures remained little changed even after the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to a three-year low in the week ended November 29th.

The report said initial jobless claims slid to 191,000, a decrease of 27,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 218,000.

With the unexpected decline, jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting 189,000 in the week ended September 24, 2022.

After showing a lack of direction early in the session, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. While the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 posted modest gains, the narrower Dow showed a more notable move to the upside.

The major averages all finished the day in positive territory. The Dow jumped 408.44 points or 0.9% to 47,882.90, the Nasdaq rose 40.42 points or 0.2% to 23,454.09 and the S&P 500 climbed 20.35 points or 0.3% to 6,849.72.

The advance by the Dow came as shares of UnitedHealth (UNH) spiked by 4.7%, while Goldman Sachs (GS), McDonald's (MCD) and Amgen (AMGN) also posted strong gains.

On the other hand, shares of Microsoft (MSFT) slumped by 2.5% after a report from The Information said the software giant lowered growth targets for artificial intelligence software sales.

The strength in the broader markets came following the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing an unexpected decrease by private sector employment in the month of November.

ADP said private sector employment fell by 32,000 jobs in November after climbing by an upwardly revised 47,000 jobs in October.

The data added to recently renewed optimism the Federal Reserve will once again lower interest rates at its monetary policy meeting next week.

Meanwhile, a separate report from the Institute for Supply Management showing an unexpected increase by its reading on service sector activity.

The ISM said its services PMI inched up to 52.6 in November after climbing to 52.4 in October, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 52.1.

With the unexpected increase, the services PMI reached its highest level since hitting 53.5 in February.

Oil service stocks moved sharply higher amid a rebound by the price of crude oil, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 3.7% to a ten-month closing high.

Substantial strength was also visible among airline stocks, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index surging by 2.7% to its best closing level in almost three months.

Steel, financial and housing stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while computer hardware stocks showed a notable move to the downside.