The Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected pullback by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of March.

Growth in Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity has unexpectedly seen a considerable acceleration in the month of April, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia revealed in a report released on Thursday. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity jumped to 15.5 in April from 3.2 in March, with a positive reading indicating growth.

Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ATNM) announced Thursday that results from the Phase 3 SIERRA trial of Iomab-B were presented in an oral presentation at the 50th Annual European Bone Marrow Transplant Society Meeting (EBMT) held in Glasgow, Scotland on April 14-17.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits remained flat in the week ended April 13th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said initial jobless claims came in at 212,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised level. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 215,000 from the 211,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Pharmaceutical company Moleculin Biotech, Inc. (MBRX) announced Thursday that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to Annamycin for the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

Investors are keeping a close eye on gold as the conflict in the Middle East escalates with a possibility of a full-scale regional war in the area.

Euro Dollar up 0.4%, Dollar Yen down 0.2%, Gold Dollar drops 0.8%. Nike gains 0.2%. Dollar strong, impacting Yen. US stocks volatile on Fed concerns, Europe steady. Key events: US jobless claims, Australia employment, Eurozone meeting, Japan industry index, Australia unemployment rate.

The British pound sterling is showing signs of recovery, bouncing back from a five-month low, with GBP/USD stabilising around the 1.2470 mark on Thursday.

Euro edges higher despite continued hawkish commentary from Fed officials; Geopolitical developments cast doubt on ECB June rate cut; Yen fails to make considerable gains as market looks to Friday’s CPI data

Oil prices experienced a significant drop in the last session that was influenced by an accelerating build-up in U.S. crude inventories and concerns about oil demand.