US STOCKS-Futures rise on increased hopes of trade deal with China

U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday, setting Wall Street for a second session of gains this week, on increased hopes of a preliminary trade deal between the United States and China.

Headlines around trade suggested the world's two largest economies were closer to agreeing how many tariffs would be rolled back in a "phase one" trade deal, while President Donald Trump said talks with China were going "very well". A more optimistic tone around trade helped Wall Street's main indexes snap a three-day losing streak in the previous session, putting the benchmark S&P 500 index about 1% away from an all-time high hit last week.

However, if no agreement is reached soon, more tariffs on Chinese goods would come into effect from Dec. 15. Shares of tariff-sensitive semiconductor companies looked set to rise for the second straight day, with Micron Technology Inc, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Nvidia Corp gaining between 1% and 1.3% in premarket trading.

At 7:03 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 104 points, or 0.38%. S&P 500 e-minis were up 11 points, or 0.35% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 37 points, or 0.45%. Investors are also expected to parse through a report from the Commerce Department on U.S. goods trade deficit in October and another set of data on factory orders.

After lackluster readings on domestic services sector activity and private payrolls growth on Wednesday, market participants are also awaiting the Labor Department's non-farm payrolls data due Friday. Among stocks, Dollar General Corp jumped about 5% after the discount store chain raised its full-year profit forecast.

Nike Inc shares climbed 2% after a report said Goldman Sachs upgraded the sportswear maker's stock to "buy" from "neutral". Tiffany & Co, which is being bought by Louis Vuitton owner LVMH, nudged 0.5% lower after the luxury jeweler fell short of analyst's estimates for quarterly sales.