By Fred Imbert, CNBC–

U.S. stock index futures turned positive Thursday morning, after China said it wished to resolve its protracted trade dispute with the world’s largest economy with a “calm” attitude.

At around 05:30 a.m. ET, Dow futures rose 235 points, indicating a positive open of more than 248 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both higher, reversing earlier losses.

When asked about its ongoing trade war with the U.S., China’s commerce ministry reportedly said Thursday that it was opposed to escalating trade tensions.

The comments appeared to soothe investor concerns at a time when many are worried about the possibility of a global recession.

On Wednesday, the rate on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond sank to an all-time low , while the U.S. yield curve inverted even further.

The closely-watched spread between the 10-year Treasury yield and the 2-year rate briefly fell to negative 6 basis points in the previous session. The move extended losses from earlier in the week, when the spread registered its lowest level since 2007 .

A 10-year rate below the 2-year yield is viewed by fixed income traders as an important recession prognosticator , marking an unusual phenomenon as bondholders receive better compensation in the short term.

Data, earnings

On the data front, the latest weekly jobless claims, a second reading of second-quarter GDP (gross domestic product) and advance economic indicators for July are all scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m.

Pending home sales for July will follow slightly later in the session.

In corporate news, Toronto-Dominion Bank Best Buy and Dollar General are among some of the companies expected to report earnings before the opening bell.

Dell Marvell Tech and Workday are scheduled to release their latest quarterly results after market close.