US pre-open: Stocks seen higher after volatile Thursday

US stock futures pointed to gains at the open on Wall Street on Friday following another volatile session the day before, which saw equity markets stage a late recovery.

At 1045 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were up 0.6%, while Nasdaq futures were 0.5% higher. On Thursday, stocks managed to reverse earlier losses and end up, with the Dow closing 1.1% firmer a day after notching its biggest-ever one-day points gain.

Still, US stocks are on course for a year of losses and a weak December, with the Nasdaq having entered bear market territory and a veritable raft of issues for investors to worry about.

Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said: "Head-scratching is widespread while all the same headwinds prevail; US government shutdown, US/China trade uncertainty, Brexit, monetary policy tightening, oil supply/demand, etc."

Sino-US relations were still very much in focus following a Reuters report on Thursday suggesting that US President Trump was considering an executive order that would ban US wireless carriers from buying equipment from China’s Huawei and ZTE.

In commodity markets, oil prices were on the rise, with West Texas Intermediate up 2.5% at $45.75 a barrel and Brent crude 1.8% higher at $53.10, bouncing back from losses the day before ahead of crude oil stocks change data from the Energy Information Administration at 1600 GMT.

On the data front, wholesale inventories and the goods trade balance are at 1330 GMT, while Chicago PMI is at 1445 GMT and pending home sales and new home sales are at 1500 GMT.