Stock futures pointed to a third day of gains as investors looked past earlier jitters about the spread of the omicron COVID variant.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials sprang up 114 points, or 0.3%, to 35,746.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 14 points, or 0.3%, to 4,700.
Futures for the NASDAQ improved 35.25 points, or 0.2%, to 16,205.
Reopening plays were in the green in the pre-market, including Las Vegas Sans, Wynn Resorts and Carnival. Airline shares were also in the green.
Helping boost sentiment were new studies suggesting that omicron has a lower risk of hospitalization than other COVID variants.
Still, trading was relatively thin and is expected to continue to be so heading into the Christmas holiday.
On Wednesday the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for Pfizer's Covid pill, the first oral antiviral drug against the virus. The drugmaker's shares gained about 1%.
Investors will get some key inflation data on Thursday, including prices for core personal consumption expenditures. Consumer sentiment numbers and jobless claims will also be released.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 moved higher 0.8% Thursday, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 0.4%.
Oil prices grew 44 cents to $73.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $4.30 to $1,806.50 U.S. an ounce.