The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to add to the strong gains posted in the previous session.
The markets may continue to benefit from optimism about a coronavirus stimulus bill following the latest comments from President Donald Trump.
In an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business, Trump said administration officials and Democrats are "starting to have some very productive talks."
"We started talking again. And we're talking about airlines and we're talking about a bigger deal than airlines," Trump said. "We're talking about a deal with $1,200 per person, we're talking about other things."
Trump abruptly pulled out of negotiations of a new stimulus earlier this week but now says "we have a really good chance of doing something."
U.S. stocks moved sharply higher on Wednesday, reacting to Trump's tweets that raised hopes of a smaller aid package sometime soon.
After opening on a firm note, stocks kept moving higher as the session progressed, and all the major averages ended with handsome gains.
The Dow ended up 530.70 points or 1.9 percent at 28,303.46, the Nasdaq climbed 210 points or 1.9 percent to settle at 11,364.60 and the S&P 500 moved up 58.49 points or 1.7 percent to 3,419.44.
The rally came after Trump indicated he would support individual stimulus measures after calling off negotiations over a broader relief package.
"The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support, & 135 Billion Dollars for Paycheck Protection Program for Small Business. Both of these will be fully paid for with unused funds from the Cares Act. Have this money. I will sign now!" Trump tweeted.
He added later that he will sign a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200) the moment it is sent to him. "They will go out to our great people IMMEDIATELY. I am ready to sign right now. Are you listening Nancy?" he said.
The rally was a welcome relief for investors as the market had plunged sharply in the last couple of hours on Tuesday after Trump tweeted that he would end negotiations on a new fiscal stimulus package and said he has instructed his administration's negotiators to stop stimulus discussions with Democrats until after the presidential election.
Honeywell International (HON), Salesforce.Com (CRM), Intel (INTC), Home Depot (HD), Nike (NKE) and Cisco Systems (CSCO) rose sharply.
Several other top stocks, including Caterpillar (CAT), General Electric (GE), JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Microsoft (MS), Walt Disney (DIS) and Apple (AAPL) also posted strong gains.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are climbing $0.73 to $40.68 a barrel after sliding $0.72 to $39.95 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after tumbling $18 to $1,890.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $10.50 to $1,901.30 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 105.99 yen versus the 105.98 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1756 compared to yesterday's $1.1763.
Asia
Asian stocks advanced on Thursday amid renewed optimism about more U.S. fiscal stimulus after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that he would support relief measures for airlines and small businesses.
Optimistic signals by U.S. House speaker Nancy Pelosi over an airline-relief bill, rising chances of a Democratic victory during the November elections and expectations that U.S. monetary policy will remain accommodative for a long time also boosted investor sentiment.
Markets in China were closed for the National Day holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.2 percent to close at 24,193.35.
Japanese shares hit a seven-month high as Trump's tweets rekindled hopes of a partial deal on U.S. coronavirus stimulus and the Nikkei reported that Japan will scale back a requirement of two weeks of self-quarantine for some business travelers.
The Nikkei average jumped 224.25 points, or 0.96 percent, to 23,647.07, marking the highest close since Feb. 14. The broader Topix index closed 0.55 percent higher at 1,655.47.
Technology stocks led the surge, with semiconductor and electronics company Screen Holdings rising as much as 8.3 percent. Advantest gained 5.4 percent and Tokyo Electron rallied 3.7 percent.
ANA Holdings dropped 1.7 percent after reports that the airline will maintain pay cuts implemented in April for its directors and managers.
On the economic front, official data showed that Japan posted a current account surplus of 2,102.8 billion yen in August, down 1.5 percent from last year. That exceeded expectations for a surplus of 1,983.7 billion yen following the 1,468.3 billion yen surplus in July.
Australian markets hit a one-month high after the government pledged billions of dollars in tax cuts and measures to boost jobs and help pull the economy out of its historic coronavirus slump.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rallied 65.60 points, or 1.09 percent, to 6,102, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 66.20 points, or 1.06 percent, at 6,305.80.
Mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto rose about 2 percent while gold miners ended mixed after bullion prices extended losses overnight. The big four banks rose between 0.8 percent and 1.5 percent.
Ampol added 1.2 percent after the petroleum company said it will explore options including a closure of its refinery in Lytton, Brisbane amid low fuel demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Seoul stocks ended higher for the seventh day running on hopes of a partial fiscal stimulus before the U.S. Presidential election. The benchmark Kospi inched up 5.02 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,391.96.
Rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI rose 1.3 percent, chemical maker LG Chem advanced 1.8 percent and steelmaker POSCO added 1.5 percent.
South Korea saw a current account surplus of $6.57 billion in August, the Bank of Korea said in a report - down from $7.45 billion in July.
Europe
European stocks edged higher on Thursday to hover near a three-week high as expectations of a targeted U.S. stimulus package helped investors shrug off concerns over rising Covid-19 cases in France, Spain and the Czech Republic.
The pan European Stoxx 600 rose half a percent to 367.37 after closing 0.1 percent lower on Wednesday. The German DAX rose half a percent while France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were up around 0.3 percent.
Flavor and fragrance maker Givaudan declined 2 percent after its nine-month sales totaled 4.79 billion Swiss francs, an increase of 3.7 percent on a like-for-like basis and 2.7 percent in Swiss francs.
Swiss engineering company ABB dropped 1.5 percent. The company said its high-precision robots are used to accelerate Covid-19 testing in Singapore.
Ratos AB climbed 3.2 percent after U.S. business analytics company Dun & Bradstreet announced it would acquire Europe's Bisnode from the Swedish private equity firm.
Sensor maker AMS fell over 1 percent after announcing new measures to secure long-term financing.
German sugar producer Suedzucker plunged 8 percent. A disappointing sugar beet crop expected in Europe this year, weaker trend in world sugar prices and the economic uncertainty from Covid-19 are still creating uncertainty for the sugar sector, the company said.
Evotec advanced 1.7 percent after it received a $6 million payment from Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMY) following the decision to expand the portfolio by another drug discovery project.
Mass media company Prosiebensat 1 Media SE surged almost 5 percent after an upgrade by Goldman Sachs to "buy".
GVC Holdings rallied 3.4 percent after the bookmaker raised earnings expectations for 2020.
Hargreaves Lansdown shares slumped 5.6 percent despite the financial services company making a good start to the financial year.
In economic releases, German exports growth slowed in August, while growth in imports gained momentum, data from Destatis revealed.
U.S. Economic Reports
A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended October 3rd.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 840,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 849,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 820,000 from the 837,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also fell to 857,000, a decrease of 13,250 from the previous week's revised average of 870,250.
At 9:15 am ET, Kansas City Federal Reserve President Esther George is scheduled to speak at the Kansas Economic Outlook Conference on the outlook and monetary policy.
Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren is due to speak at a Marquette University Economics Department event at 12:10 am ET.
At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of its auction of $23 billion worth of thirty-year bonds.
Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan is also due to speak in a moderated Q&A at a San Antonio Chamber of Commerce event at 1 pm ET.
At 2 pm ET, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic is scheduled to speak about "Empowering Workers to Recover Stronger" at a Rework America Alliance virtual event.
Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkinis due to speak at an "Investing in Rural America" online event hosted by the Richmond Fed at 2:30 pm ET.
At 6 pm ET, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan is scheduled to participate in a virtual town hall discussion on the economy and monetary policy hosted by the Dallas Fed.
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