US STOCKS-Futures gain as oil tensions ease; jobless data awaited

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* Exxon, Chevron top gainers on Dow premarket
* Initial weekly jobless claims may soar to 3.5 mln
* All three main indexes fell over 4% on Wednesday
* Futures up: Dow 1.93%, S&P 1.88%, Nasdaq 1.59%

(Adds details, comment; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Uday Sampath Kumar
April 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures bounced on
Thursday as oil prices recovered on hopes of a Saudi-Russia deal
to cut output, but expectations of another surge in U.S. jobless
claims due to the coronavirus kept investors on edge.
Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N and Chevron Corp CVX.N jumped
more than 5% in premarket trading, as crude prices surged after
U.S. President Donald Trump said he expected the oil titans to
reach an agreement to cope with plunging demand. O/R
Wall Street fell 4% on Wednesday, with the Dow .DJI and
S&P 500 .SPX deepening losses from their worst quarter in a
decade, as more U.S. companies cut production and withdrew
financial forecasts, raising the risk of corporate defaults.
Boeing Co BA.N , once a symbol of U.S. industrial strength,
said on Thursday it would offer buyout and early retirement
packages to employees in the face of a near collapse in global
travel demand. Its shares rose 3% before the bell. L1N2BQ07O
"Until investors are able to put a price on the final cost
of the economic impact from the virus pandemic, any predictions
of where the bottom is for stocks will be deemed premature,"
said Raffi Boyadjian, senior investment analyst at XM in Cyprus.
At 7:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 401 points, or
1.93%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 46 points, or 1.88% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 118.25 points, or 1.59%.
The S&P 500 has lost about $8 trillion in market value since
a mid-February record high as the outbreak spread deeper in the
United States and Trump warned of more economic pain in the next
two weeks as efforts to contain the virus crush business
activity.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits are likely to
have shot up to a seasonally adjusted 3.5 million for the week
ended March 28, racing ahead of the previous week's record 3.3
million figure. Some estimates range as high as 5.25 million.
"Another record in initial jobless claims could raise
questions as to what other measures officials could adopt," said
Charalambos Pissouros, senior market analyst at JFD Group.
"The Fed was never in favor of the 'negative rates regime',
but it remains to be seen whether the damages caused by the
virus outbreak will force them to make an exception."
Across the Atlantic, British Airways ICAG.L jumped 3%
after reports it was in talks with its union about a plan to
suspend around 32,000 staff, marking one of the industry's most
dramatic moves yet to survive the coronavirus impact.
Delta Airlines DAL.O , United Airlines Holding UAL.O and
American Airlines AAL.O , among the most battered U.S. stocks
this year, rose about 5%.
Southwest Airlines Co LUV.N jumped 3% as it said it
intended to file an application with the U.S. Treasury
department for aid related to the disruption caused by the
health crisis.