Investing.com - U.S. futures pointed to a higher opening bell on Thursday, as investors looked ahead to a flurry of economic data.
The S&P 500 futures was up 10 points or 0.39% to 2,617.75 as of 6:44 AM ET (10:44 GMT) while Dow futures increased 79 points or 0.33% to 23,939.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures rose 40 points or 0.62% to 6,517.50.
All three indices closed in the negative on Wednesday, under pressure from fears of a potential trade war and growing concern over technology regulation.
Increased scrutiny on Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) over the misuse of user data lead to a slump in tech stocks this week. Facebook has faced criticism after a third-party app was used to target 50 million users without their knowledge. On Wednesday the firm unveiled new tools to help users access the data that the social media giant has on them.
Facebook was up 1.50% in pre-market trading.
Other technology stocks have also recovered. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose 2.02% while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) increased 2.16% and Anheuser Busch Inbev (BR:ABI) NV ADR (NYSE:BUD) gained 1.38%.
Elsewhere GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) was down 1.98% while payment processor Square (NYSE:SQ) fell 2.11%
In economic news, jobless claims is expected at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT), along with personal income and outlays data. The Chicago purchasing managers' index (PMI) is released at 9:45 AM ET (13:45 GMT) followed by consumer sentiment figures at 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT).
In Europe stocks were up. Germany’s DAX rose 112 points or 0.94% while in France the CAC 40 increased 34 points or 0.67% and in London, the FTSE 100 was up 29 points or 0.41%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 gained 36 points or 1.10% while Spain’s IBEX 35 inched up 64 points or 0.67%.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.01% to $1,324.10 a troy ounce while crude oil futures was up 0.19% to $64.50 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, increased 0.01% to 89.77.