US stocks edge lower after weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fall

• US stocks edged lower on Thursday after weekly jobless claims fell below analyst estimates.
• Jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 250,000 last week, well below the estimate of 260,000.
• The better-than-expected weekly data shows that the labor market is still strong.

US stocks dipped on Thursday after weekly jobless claims bested expectations and showed the underlying strength of the current labor market.

Claims fell by 2,000 to 250,000 last week, well below estimates for 260,000. The data highlight that rising layoffs and hiring freezes from select technology companies have yet to put a dent in the overall labor market.

The data also bolsters the Federal Reserve's view that it still has some work to do to cool down the strong job market, increasing the likelihood of an outsized interest rate hike in late September.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 4,269.78, down 0.10%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,963.56, down 0.05% (16.76 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 12,896.91, down 0.32%

European natural gas prices continue to rise and are now 10 times the usual amount for this time of year, Bloomberg data shows. Dutch TTF natural gas futures, the benchmark European price, hovered near 234 euros per megawatt hour Thursday, up about 3.5% intraday.

Europe is stepping up its imports of diesel from sources around the world as an energy crisis grips the continent, forcing industries to burn the oil product instead of increasingly expensive natural gas.

Bed Bath & Beyond plummeted up to 18.2% in Thursday's premarket after a major shareholder moved to sell his stake in the meme stock. Ryan Cohen's RC Ventures intends to dump the 9.45 million shares it holds, according to an SEC filing.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.25% to $89.21 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, rose 1.89% to $95.42.

Bitcoin jumped 0.33% to $23,521. Ether prices rose 1.16% to $1,869.

Gold rose 0.12% to $1,778.80 per ounce. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell 3 basis points to 2.87%.