By Sam Meredith, CNBC–

  • At around 02:15 a.m., Dow futures rose 27 points, indicating a positive open of more than 20 points.
  • Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both slightly higher.
  • Market participants are closely monitoring the prospect of a limited trade agreement with 10 days to go before Washington is poised to impose even more tariffs on Chinese goods.

U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Thursday.

At around 02:15 a.m., Dow futures rose 27 points, indicating a positive open of more than 20 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both slightly higher.

Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments, following a media report suggesting the world’s two largest economies were on the cusp of signing a so-called “phase one” trade deal.

A Bloomberg report, which cited people familiar with U.S.-China trade talks, said both countries were inching closer to securing an agreement on the amount of tariffs that would be rolled back in a limited trade deal. President Donald Trump also said Wednesday that he believed trade talks with Beijing were going “very well.”

Market participants are closely monitoring the prospect of a limited trade agreement with 10 days to go before Washington is poised to impose even more tariffs on Chinese goods. Dec. 15 is the date when tariffs on another $156 billion in Chinese goods would go into effect.

The U.S. and China have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of one another’s goods since the start of 2018, battering financial markets and souring business and consumer sentiment.

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

CrowdStrike, DocuSign and Okta are all set to report their latest quarterly figures after market close.

On the data front, the latest weekly jobless claims and international trade figures for October will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Factory orders for October will follow slightly later in the session.