Investing.com – Wall Street is expected to trade in tight ranges on Thursday ahead of further employment data releases ahead of Friday’s monthly jobs report. Shell and Equinor announced plans for a North Sea joint venture, while UnitedHealth braces for the death of a senior executive and French Prime Minister Michel Barnier will resign.

1. Fatal shooting of a UnitedHealth executive

UnitedHealth (NYSE:) will be in the spotlight Thursday after Brian Thompson, the CEO of the company’s insurance division, was killed Wednesday in what police said was a targeted attack by a gunman.

“This does not appear to be a random act of violence,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference. “Everything indicates that this was a premeditated, planned and targeted attack.”

Thompson, who became CEO of UnitedHealthcare in 2021 after joining UnitedHealth Group in 2004, was said to be at a hotel in New York City for an investor meeting.

Thompson’s wife, Paulette, told NBC News that he had received some threats, although she did not know the details.

“Basically, I don’t know, a lack of reporting?” she said, apparently alluding to a possible insurance-related motive, according to the station. “I don’t know (the) details. All I know is that he said there were some people who threatened him.”

UnitedHealth is the largest U.S. health insurer, providing services to tens of millions of Americans.

2. Future prospects are ahead of unemployment claims

U.S. stock futures traded in narrow ranges on Thursday after major Wall Street indexes posted new closing highs ahead of further jobs data and quarterly corporate earnings.

At 04:00 ET (09:00 GMT), the contract was up 6 points, or 0.1%, while down 4 points, or 0.1%, and down 40 points, or 0.2%.

Major benchmarks closed at new record levels on Wednesday after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy was strong enough for the central bank to tread cautiously on interest rate cuts.

Tech-heavy stocks were the star of the day, up 1.3%, while broad-based stocks gained 0.6% and shares rose 0.7% to close above 45,000 for the first time.

More labor market data is due to be examined in Thursday’s weekly report, and this follows lower-than-expected growth in November. The highly regarded monthly report is due to appear on Friday.

Further quarterly results are due to be digested on Wednesday from companies such as Dollar General (NYSE:), Kroger (NYSE:), Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:) as well as American Eagle (NYSE:) and Five Below (NASDAQ: ) will also be in the spotlight after its results are released after the market closes on Wednesday.

3. Bitcoin rises above $100,000

The price rose sharply on Thursday, reaching new record highs above $100,000, as traders cheered President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of a pro-crypto candidate to lead the SEC.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency broke out of its recent trading range after Trump appointed former commissioner Paul Atkins to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the government agency that regulates the securities industry.

At 4 a.m. ET, Bitcoin was trading over 6% higher at $102,880.0, after previously hitting a new record of $104,000.

Bitcoin is the world’s most widely used cryptocurrency and has more than doubled from this year’s low of $38,505 since Trump’s election victory in early November.

Atkins has expressed support for digital assets in the past and is expected to replace incumbent SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in January.

Genseler had spent two years cracking down on misconduct in the crypto industry, taking enforcement actions against several major companies, including Coinbase (NASDAQ:) and , over allegations of selling illegal securities.

“Atkins … recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are critical to making America greater than ever before,” Trump said in a social media post.

4. French Prime Minister Barnier is about to resign

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is expected to resign later on Thursday after losing a vote of no confidence, plunging France into its second major political crisis in six months.

The radical left and the far right united against Barnier for pushing through parliament an unpopular budget he believed was needed to reduce a gaping deficit, breaking up the fragile coalition government.

French politics has been in crisis since President Emmanuel Macron called early elections in early June, and the country is now facing a period of deep political uncertainty that is already unsettling investors in French government bonds and stocks.

France now risks ending the year without a stable government or a budget for 2025, and this political unrest will further weaken a European Union already reeling from the implosion of the German coalition government.

5. Crude oil slightly higher; Shell and Equinor form joint venture

Oil prices rose on Thursday, helped by a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories ahead of the latest meeting of top producers to discuss production levels.

At 4 a.m. ET, U.S. crude oil (WTI) futures were up 0.2% at $68.68 a barrel, while the contract was up 0.2% at $72.42 a barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, will meet online later on Thursday and are widely expected to extend their latest round of oil production cuts, providing additional support to the oil market.

Reuters reported, citing OPEC+ sources, that the group is expected to announce an extension of at least three months from January.

OPEC+ has sought to phase out supply cuts by next year, but fears weak demand and a surge in supply will lead to a sharp drop in prices in 2025.

Government data released on Wednesday showed that U.S. oil prices contracted by just over 5 million barrels in the last week of November, much more than expected.

The oil sector will also be in focus on Thursday after Shell (LON:) and Norway’s Equinor announced plans to form a joint energy company.

The joint venture will be established in Aberdeen, Scotland, and is expected to become the UK North Sea’s largest independent producer by 2025, producing more than 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.