US pre-open: Futures turn north as Wall Street looks to extend gains

US stock futures pointed to a positive start on Thursday as Wall Street looked to extend the previous session’s Federal Reserve-driven gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is set to open up approximately 36 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are expected to begin the session seven and 17 points higher respectively.

Fed minutes point to December rate hike

On Wednesday night, the minutes from the latest Fed meeting indicated the US central bank is set to raise short-term interest rates for the first time in almost a decade.

“The FOMC struck a particularly hawkish tone in the minutes released yesterday, providing markets with a strong degree of certainty that we will see a hike in December,” said IG’s market analyst Joshua Mahony.

“The meeting took place prior to this month’s bumper jobs report, which highlights that, barring an absolute shocker in December, Janet Yellen and the Fed can achieve the 2015 hike they seek.”

Wall Street rallied on Wednesday, after the Fed minutes indicated policymakers are increasingly confident the US economy can sustain an interest-rate hike next month.

However, some analysts warned the Fed might have already delayed liftoff by longer than necessary.

“A hike wouldn't be a policy error and it'll be too early to conclude on this for some time,” said analysts at Deutsche Bank.

“However, monetary policy works with a lag that can be around one or two years and we worry that with global nominal growth still so low, the Fed has left it rather late in the cycle to be hiking.”

On the macroeconomic front, investors will analyse a reading on weekly jobless claims at 1330 GMT, while the Philadelphia Fed’s business index is scheduled for release at the same time.

Market participants will also hear from Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart , who is due to speak at 1730 GMT in Atlanta, while Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer will speak in San Francisco at 2145 GMT.

In company news, Pfizer gained 1.34% ahead of the bell after edging closer to sealing a deal for drug maker Allergan, while mobile-payments startup Square will make its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

The earnings season sees Best Buy, Dollar Tree and JM Smucker on tap before the opening bell, while Gap, Fresh Market and Intuit are among those reporting after the close.

Elsewhere, Asian stocks rallied on the back of the Fed minutes, while European equities were also on the front foot and oil prices were mixed. West Texas Intermediate fell 0.29% to $40.63 a barrel, while Brent gained 0.61% to $44.41 a barrel.

The dollar was on the back foot against the main currencies, sliding 0.33% and 0.35% against the yen and the euro respectively and losing 0.20% against the pound, while gold spot gained 0.30% to $1,073.99.