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U.S. stock futures rose slightly on Thursday as a slew of potential deal making news lifted shares of media companies.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials increased 67 points, or 0.3%, to 25,275
S&P 500 futures gathered 6.75 points or 0.2%, to 2,785.75, while futures for the NASDAQ composite index picked up 22.25 points, or 0.3%, to 7,253.25
In the pre-market, shares of 21st Century Fox rose nearly 1% after Comcast announced a bid to buy several major units of the media giant for $65 billion. Comcast's bid tops Disney's, who agreed to a $52.4-billion deal.
The news comes a day after a judge approved AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner. Last year, the Justice Department sued to block the merger, arguing it would potentially lead to higher prices for the consumer. AT&T shares rose 0.5%, while Time Warner gained 0.3%.
Thursday's moves come after U.S. stocks closed lower after the Federal Reserve announced Wednesday a new rate hike and indicated that two other increases are possible until the end of the year. As a result, the Dow fell about 120 points as traders expect that the higher rates will bring higher costs for companies.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 retreated 1% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dipped 0.9%
Oil prices moved higher 43 cents to $67.07 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices improved $10.40 to $1,311.70 U.S. an ounce.
