U.S. stock index futures were modestly higher in Thursday early morning trading after the Dow Jones Industrials on Wednesday posted its best day in months as investors await updates on the ongoing fiscal stimulus discussions.
Futures for the 30-stock index rocketed 242 points, or 0.9%, to 28.421.
Futures for the S&P 500 acquired 20.75 points, or 0.6%, at 3,427.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite piled on 100 points, or 0.9%, to 11,570.
Shares of United, American and Delta airlines were all up more than 3% in pre-market trading Thursday.
Investors are also digesting Thursday's initial jobless claims number. The U.S. Labor Department reported claims amounted to 840,000. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected first-time claims for unemployment insurance to total 825,000 for the week ending Oct. 3. This would mark a slowdown from the 837,000 first time claims for the previous week.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 climbed 1% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index retreated 0.2%.
Oil prices gained 84 cents to $40.79 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $8.30 at $1,899.10.