US pre-open: Futures point to early gains ahead of the bell

Wall Street futures were in the green prior to the opening bell on Thursday, putting major indices on track to extend their rally for a third straight session ahead of a slew of data points scheduled for later in the day.

As of 1210 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.30%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.29% and 0.20% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 261.19 points higher on Wednesday as market participants digested third-quarter GDP figures and continued to monitor Covid-19 headlines in the lead-up to the Christmas break.

Reopening plays like Wynn Resorts, Carnival and American Airlines were all higher in pre-market as traders brushed off earlier fears regarding the Covid-19 omicron variant, while drugmaker Pfizer was also in the green after the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 pill, the world's first antiviral drug aimed at the virus.

On the macro front, November PCE figures, last month's durable goods orders and jobless claims numbers for the week ended 18 December will all be published at 1330 GMT, while November new home sales and the University of Michigan's final December consumer sentiment index will follow at 1500 GMT.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Thursday.