By Anora Mahmudova and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

SolarCity slides premarket after earnings

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- A larger-than-expected fall in weekly jobless claims briefly lifted spirits on Wall Street Thursday, but a slide in oil prices, which hit energy-related shares, and more uncertainty over a Greece bailout kept investors cautious.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJH5) had been flipping between small gains and losses, but, at last check, were off 26 points to 17,967, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPH5) were off 3.6 points to 2,091.60. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDH5) stayed in positive territory -- barely -- with a four-point gain to 4,390.

Markets had closed slightly lower on Wednesday, as investors wrestled with interpreting minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting, which suggested the first rate hike might come later than expected. Wall Street had anticipated a midyear rate hike. The report showed the central bank is worried about the low rate of inflation and slow pickup in wages, emphasizing the importance of those data points.

Setback for Greece: Media reports on Thursday said Germany has rejected Greece's request for a six-month loan extension agreement, noting that their application is "not a substantial proposal for a solution." The Greek government had formally requested a six-month extension to its loan agreement, sending stocks higher in Athens. But those gains have been pared and the Stoxx Europe 600 index was flat and the euro (EURUSD) fell against the dollar.

The full Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers is scheduled to meet again on Friday.

Data: The number of people who applied for new unemployment benefits in the second week of February dropped back below the key 300,000 mark, offering fresh evidence that layoffs remain low and the pace of hiring in the U.S. is still robust.

The Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index for February is out at 10 a.m. Eastern. Economists expect a slight rebound to 8 from the sharp decline to 6.3 in January, compared with 24.3 in December. The leading indicators readings is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern as well.

Oil blues: Energy companies and oil-related funds were hit hard in premarket trade, as crude-oil prices slid and hovered around $50 a barrel. The oil slump came after reports showed a whopping jump in U.S. oil stockpiles, which underscored concerns of a supply glut. Among oil-tracking indexes, the iPath Goldman Sachs Crude Oil Total Return Index ETN (OIL) fell 3.4%, and the Velocity Shares 3X Long Crude ETN (UWTI) slumped 8.8%.

ConocoPhillips dropped 1.4% ahead of the open, while Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) shaved off 1.3%, and Halliburton Co. (HAL) lost 2.2%.

Earnings: It is a busy premarket lineup on the earnings front: T-Mobile US Inc.(TMUS) said it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter and reported a better-than-expected surge in revenue. Shares were unchanged ahead of the bell.

Hormel Foods Corp.(HRL) beat Wall Street's earnings expectations and raised its 2015 adjusted earnings guidance. Shares rose 0.9%.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT) reported quarterly earnings that missed Wall Street's expectations. Shares fell 1.1%.

Priceline Group Inc.(PCLN) shares popped 8.8% after profit and sales beat expectations.

DirecTV(DTV) gained 0.6% in premarket trade Thursday, after the satellite TV service beat fourth-quarter profit expectations amid strong growth in average monthly revenue per subscriber (ARPU).

Movers and shakers:SolarCity Corp.(SCTY) slumped 6.3% after the solar-energy firm late Wednesday said it swung to a fourth-quarter loss of 4 cents a share, from a profit of 28 cents a share a year ago.

Counterpart SunEdison Inc.(SUNE) fell 4%. The solar-energy company late Wednesday reported a smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter loss.

BJ's Restaurants Inc.(BJRI) surged 10% after reporting a sharp rise in profit for the fourth quarter.

Other markets: In Asia, Japanese stocks rose to a 15-year intraday high, while the rest of Asia closed mixed. Chinese markets were closed for the Lunar New Year celebrations.

Gold rallied (GCJ5) after the Federal Open Market Committee minutes dashed hopes of a midyear rate hike.

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