U.S. stock futures rose Thursday after better-than-expected earnings reports from Bank of America and other major companies.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials hiked 296 points, or 0.9%, to 34,553.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 43 points, or 1%, to 4,398.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index popped 172 points, or 1.2%, to 14,936.25.
Third-quarter earnings season rolled on Wednesday with several big banks and Dow members reporting financial results before the bell.
Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all saw their shares rise in the premarket after beating earnings expectations.
Dow constituents UnitedHealth and Walgreens Boots Alliance also gained in early morning trading after the companies’ quarterly results topped estimates.
Stocks linked to the economic recovery rose in the premarket as well.
Shares of Carnival and MGM Resorts gained. Energy shares including Diamondback Energy and Occidental Petroleum moved higher as oil prices jumped on increased demand. UPS rose after an upgrade from Stifel, which cited upcoming holiday demand.
The moves came as COVID cases in the U.S. continued to trend lower. The seven-day moving average of cases fell to 86,181, down from an average above 161,000 cases at the peak of this latest wave in early September, according to the latest CDC figures.
September producer price index data and weekly jobless claims will be released Thursday.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.5% Thursday. Markets in Hong Kong were closed for a holiday.
Oil prices gained 81 cents to $81.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices increased $1.70 to $1,796.40 U.S. an ounce.
