1. Asian shares rise with China closed for holiday
Most Asian markets ended higher on Thursday, as strong overnight gains on Wall Street and a market holiday in China supported risk appetite.
Chinese stock markets, closed on Thursday and Friday for the World War Two Victory Day parade, will reopen Monday.
2. Europe rallies ahead of ECB, Draghi
Germany's DAX rallied 2%, while France’s CAC 40 and London's FTSE 100 were both up around 1.5%, as investors awaited the European Central Bank's upcoming rate decision, to be followed by a closely-watched press conference.
That rate announcement is scheduled for 12:45PM London time, or 7:45AM ET, while ECB President Mario Draghi is to give a press conference on the central bank’s latest policy decision at 1:30PM London time, or 8:30AM ET.
No major policy changes are expected to be announced by Draghi, but he may stress that extra support in the future is possible, as fears linger about slowing global growth led by China.
The impact of plunging oil prices may also play a role in the ECB’s projections for the economic growth and inflation outlook.
3. Wall Street points to higher open
U.S. stock futures pointed to strong gains at the open on Thursday, as sentiment was boosted amid a global stock market rally.
During early morning hours in New York, the blue-chip Dow futures rose 70 points, or 0.44%, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 7 points, or 0.37%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 18 points, or 0.41%.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks surged, with the Nasdaq moving out of correction territory, as investors kept an eye on oil prices and calmer global markets.
4. U.S. data in focus
Market players looked ahead to the release of key U.S. data later in the session amid ongoing uncertainty over the timing of a Federal Reserve rate hike.
The U.S. will release a weekly report on initial jobless claims as well as data on the trade balance at 8:30AM ET, while the U.S. Institute of Supply Management is to report on service sector growth for August at 10:00AM.
Market participants also looked ahead to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report. The consensus forecast is that the data will show jobs growth of 220,000 in August, following an increase of 215,000 in July, while the unemployment rate is forecast to decline to 5.2% from 5.3%.
5. Oil market volatility continues
Oil prices swung between gains and losses Thursday, as investors continue to wrestle with some of the highest volatility to hit the crude market in the past quarter century.
U.S. crude was up 10 cents, or 0.2%, at $46.35 a barrel, while Brent tacked on 2 cents, or 0.04%, to $50.52 a barrel.
On Wednesday, prices fell sharply before recovering strongly to erase intraday losses as great as 4.8%, as rallying equities on Wall Street pulled crude up from lows after futures sank on concerns about global oversupply.
Both contracts have made gains in four of the past five sessions, with the U.S. benchmark up 21% and Brent up 18% from the six-year lows they hit on August 24.