Investing.com - U.S. stock markets pointed to a higher open on Thursday, with the Dow futures briefly rising 120 points, as traders looked ahead to a flurry of key earning reports.
The blue-chip Dow futures gained 89 points, or 0.56%, by 10:50GMT, or 5:50AM ET, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 13 points, or 0.67%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 43 points, or 1.03%.
Wall Street ended deep in the red on Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve’s policy statement spooked traders. As expected, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its policy meeting on Wednesday and said it was "closely monitoring" global economic and financial developments.
Fed policymakers added that the economy was still on track for moderate growth and a stronger labor market, but warned that inflation will remain low in the near-term.
Market players viewed Wednesday’s policy statement as slightly dovish. Fed funds futures, used by investors to place bets on central-bank policy, forecast a 29% likelihood of a rate increase at the Fed’s March meeting, according to data from CME Group (O:CME), down from 34% ahead the Fed’s statement on Wednesday.
Traders are anticipating just one more rate hike this year, most likely in July, compared with four according to Fed policymakers' guidance.
In pre-market news, Facebook (O:FB) surged 12% ahead of the bell after the social media giant easily topped Wall Street's most optimistic estimates for both revenue and earnings in the fourth quarter.
The earnings season continues at full speed on Thursday. Caterpillar (N:CAT), Ford Motor Company (N:F), Alibaba (N:BABA), Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (N:BMY), Blackstone (N:BX), Harley-Davidson Inc (N:HOG), Hershey Company (N:HSY), Abbott Laboratories (N:ABT), Northrop Grumman Corporation (N:NOC) and Under Armour Inc (N:UA) are slated to report ahead of the opening bell.
After the market closes, Amazon (O:AMZN), Microsoft (O:MSFT), Visa Inc (N:V), Electronic Arts (O:EA) and Amgen (O:AMGN) are on tap.
On the data front, the U.S. is to release data on durable goods orders for December as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims at 8:30AM ET, followed by pending home sales data at 15:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET.
Elsewhere, China stock markets were under pressure again on Thursday, with the Shanghai Composite ending down 2.9% to close at its lowest level since November 2014. The benchmark is down almost 26% month-to-date.
Meanwhile, European equities edged lower, as investors digested mostly downbeat corporate earnings from Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and H&M (ST:HMb).
In the oil market, prices rallied amid speculation that OPEC and non-OPEC producers may be edging closer to a deal to cut production.