US pre-open: Stocks set to ride oil bounce higher

Wall Street was being called to start the session moderately higher, with stocks riding a wave of lessened risk-aversion on the back of speculation of further monetary easing by the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan, especially the former of those two.

The sight of a 6% gain overnight in Tokyo’s Nikkei-225 and another move higher in crude oil futures was thus expected to put a smile on traders’ faces when they turned on their screens before heading off for the weekend and ahead of the upcoming Fed meeting.

On a more dour note, speaking from Davos Blackrock boss Laurence Fink suggested it was still too soon to know if markets had found a bottom, although he expected equities to end the year higher.

To take note of, he recommended Fed rate-setters take into account the potential impact which US dollar strength might have on capital markets more in an increasingly tight-knit world.

According to futures markets, the Dow Jones Industrials Average was seen starting the session 115.94 points higher to 15,882.68, alongside half percentage point advances for both the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500.

On the economic calendar for Friday were data on existing home sales and the Conference Board's gauge of consumer sentiment, with both reports referencing the month of January.

Alaska Air Group was set to receive a boost from an upgrade out of analysts at Deutsche Bank to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’.

Shares of industrial conglomerate GE were slipping lower after reporting far weaker than expected quarterly sales of $33.8bn (consensus: $35.96bn).

SunTrust Banks said earnings per share improved to 91 cents in its latest quarter, well up on the 72 cents achieved a year earlier. Revenues came in flat at $2.05bn.

Analysts had been anticipating a pace of $2.04bn in quarterly sales.