Stock futures ticked higher early Thursday as the S&P 500 remains within striking distance of its all-time high. S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.4%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 107 points, or 0.5%. The moves come after the S&P 500 finished Wednesday’s session flat but within 1% of its February record. The benchmark has rallied more than 22% since hitting a closing low in April at the peak of the U.S. tariff scare. Trade pressures have eased since then, but some on Wall Street are skeptical that the recent market momentum will carry on. “The various macro factors that I’m looking at seem to suggest that there’s no way this situation can continue,” Komal Sri-Kumar, president of Sri-Kumar Global Strategies, said on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” Wednesday, citing the Israel-Iran conflict as well as President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the impact of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” on the fiscal deficit. Elsewhere, Initial jobless claims for the week ending June 21 pulled back to 236,000, which was below the 244,000 consensus estimate. The data is indicative of a still-strong economy that seems to be holding up. Tensions in the Middle East seemed to ease after Trump said Tuesday that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was in effect. Though the president accused both countries of violating the agreement, saying he’s “not happy” with either of them, the deal has since appeared to hold. The U.S. is planning to meet with Iran next week. U.S. Treasury yields were lower on Thursday amid renewed concerns that President Donald Trump is considering replacing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 1.2 basis points to 4.281%, while the 2-year yield was lower over 2 basis points to 3.758%. The 30-year yield shed less than 1 basis point to 4.839%. Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday, as investors continued to weigh the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.65% to close at 39,584.58, closing at a five-month high since the end of January, data from LSEG showed. The Topix added 0.81% to end the trading day at 2,804.69. South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.92% to end the day at 3,079.56, while the small-cap Kosdaq retreated 1.29% to 787.95. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.1% to 8,550.8. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.64%, and the CSI 300 slipped 0.35% to close at 3,946.02. Oil prices were steady on Thursday after erasing earlier gains as investors remained cautious about the Iran-Israel ceasefire while also shifting focus to market fundamentals. Brent crude futures fell 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $67.57 a barrel by 0821 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $64.84 a barrel. Both benchmarks climbed nearly 1% on Wednesday, recovering from early-week losses after data showed resilient U.S. demand. Gold gained on Thursday as the U.S. dollar weakened due to concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s future independence while market focus shifted to upcoming U.S. inflation data for clues on the interest rate outlook. Spot gold rose 0.5% at $3,347.39 per ounce, as of 0851 GMT. U.S. gold futures firmed 0.5% to $3,360.90. The U.S. dollar fell, making dollar-denominated gold more attractive to holders of other currencies.