Stock futures were slightly higher in early morning trading Thursday after the major averages ended the Wednesday regular session lower and U.S. Treasury yields rose.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 76 points, or 0.2%, Thursday to 32,965.
Futures for the S&P 500 nicked higher nine points, or 0.2%, to 4,123.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite index advanced 18 points, or 0.1%, to 12,633.75.
Sentiment appeared to get a boost early Thursday after Bloomberg News reported that China may let the Ant Group IPO move forward, another sign that Beijing could be dialing back its tech crackdown.
Meanwhile, Tesla rose 3% after UBS upgraded the stock to buy. The firm also said the electric vehicle maker can rally more than 50% from current levels.
Shares of Five Below dropped more than 7% in the premarket after first-quarter sales came in softer than anticipated and the retailer shared weak guidance for the current period.
Target gained 1% after announcing a dividend hike. The payout raise comes after a disappointing first quarter and a profit warning for the second quarter from the retail giant.
Initial jobless claims and earnings from Nio, DocuSign and Rent the Runway are on deck for Thursday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained less than 1% Thursday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell back 0.7%
Oil prices fell 10 cents to $122.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $9.30 to $1,847.20 U.S. an ounce.