US stocks little-changed during opening trade, await Friday's jobs data

Major US equity indices were little changed during opening hour of trading on Thursday as investors remain cautious ahead of Friday's keenly watch NFP report. 

Meanwhile, a slump in crude oil prices, with WTI crude oil hitting its lowest level since December, weighed on energy stocks and has led to subdued, cautious trading action.

At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up around 18-point to 20,873, while the broader S&P 500 Index added over 3-points to 2,367. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index inched up nearly 9-points to 5,846.

On the economic data front, the US initial weekly jobless claims rose more-than-expected, by 20K to 243K by remained closer to multi-decade low. Against the backdrop of Wednesday blowout number on private-sector employment (ADP report), market participants are bracing for a strong headline NFP number, which would reaffirm Fed rate-hike action at its meeting next week.

In other central bank news, the ECB left interest rates unchanged on Thursday and upgraded the region's inflation, and growth forecasts. The revision lifted the shared currency across the board and triggered a modest US Dollar corrective slide.