U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell last week as layoffs remain sparse despite a softening labor market and rising energy costs due to the Iran war. The number of Americans applying for jobless aid for the week ending March 28 fell by 9,000 to 202,000 from the previous week’s 211,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 212,000 new filings analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting and within the range of the past several years. Filings for unemployment benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

Oil rose more than 9% and U.S. futures slid sharply lower after President Donald Trump said in his first national address since the Iran war began that the United States will continue to attack the Middle East nation for a few more weeks even though it is “really no longer a threat.” Futures for the S&P 500 tumbled 1.5% before the opening bell on Thursday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.4%. Nasdaq futures were off 2%. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $9.51 to $109.63 a barrel, its highest level in four years and surpassing prices for Brent crude, the international standard.

U.S. President Donald Trump says the U.S. will keep hitting Iran very hard in the next two or three weeks even though he says all of his administration's military objectives have been met or exceeded. He didn't mention negotiations with Iran or offer a clear path to end global energy supply disruptions. Oil prices soared and stocks fell after his televised address Wednesday night. Trump didn’t say anything about negotiations with Iran or the April 6 deadline he set for opening the Strait of Hormuz. He has threatened to attack Iran’s energy infrastructure and even its desalinization plants if the strait is not reopened.

NEW YORK (AP) — Actor, filmmaker and author B.J. Novak will host next month's PEN America gala at the American Museum of Natural History.

Britain has accused Iran of holding the world’s economy hostage, as diplomats from more than 40 countries held talks on ways of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. This vital shipping route has been shut to most traffic by the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Thursday’s meeting will focus on “diplomatic and international planning measures” to ensure the strait can reopen safely. It will also discuss action to guarantee the safety of 20,000 seafarers on 2,000 ships trapped by the conflict. Iranian attacks have halted traffic, affecting global oil flow and raising prices. While no country plans to forcefully open the strait, military planners are working on security strategies for once the fighting stops.