Stocks were holding onto sizable gains Wednesday as many investors cheered the possibility trade talks between the United States might at least start. At the same time, President Trump's announcement he wouldn't try to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell cheered the market,

Stock futures were pointing to losses on Thursday, with investors still trying to make sense of the U.S.-China trade war after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled that Washington and Beijing were yet to start negotiations on tariffs.

Hopes for easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, and President Trump saying he isn’t planning to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, lifted stocks in the region.