Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials jumped 120 points, or 0.4%, early Thursday to 30,591.
Futures for the S&P 500 improved 22.5 points, or 0.6%, to 3,785.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite index rocketed 91.75 points, or 0.8%, to 11,654.50.
The major averages came into Thursday’s session posting strong gains for the week. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite are up more than 2% in that time, while the Dow has risen nearly 2%.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak on monetary policy for a second day Thursday with congressional lawmakers. On Wednesday, Powell said the central bank is “strongly committed” to bringing down inflation. He also noted that a recession is a “possibility,” a fear that has continued to weigh on Wall Street.
UBS is the latest investment bank this week to raise its odds of a recession to 69%, citing lackluster data last week in housing, industrial production and capital goods.
Citigroup increased its odds of a recession to 50%, citing a slide in consumer demand that could make it more difficult for the Federal Reserve to achieve a soft landing.
Goldman Sachs said the probability of a downturn is “higher and more front-loaded” than it was previously. In a Monday note, the firm raised its bet of a U.S. recession to 30%, up from 15%, over the next year. It increased those odds to 48%, up from 35%, over the next two years.
On Thursday, investors will be looking forward to fresh jobless claims data.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 nicked higher 0.1% Thursday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 1.3%
Oil prices backtracked 18 cents to $106.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $6.30 to $1,832.10 U.S. an ounce.