U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher opening Thursday amid ECB President Mario Draghi's press conference.
Dow futures traded about 4 points higher after spiking more than 100 points amid Draghi's remarks that downside risks have increased again and the central bank needs to review, possibly reconsider policy stance at the next meeting, Dow Jones reported.
Draghi also said he expects rates at present or lower levels for an extended period of time, and that the central bank has the power, willingness and determination to act, noting it has plenty of instruments, Dow Jones said.
"If Draghi is actually going to talk about more liquidity, there's a potential ... that maybe the Federal Reserve is going to stop talking about raising interest rates," Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth, said of the initial gains in futures.
Still, there's "concern that this might not follow through," he said. S&P 500 futures also dipped into negative territory after initially rising on Draghi's remarks.
The euro briefly fell below $1.08 after earlier topping $1.09. The U.S. dollar index traded more than half a percent higher.
European stocks jumped more than 2 percent Thursday after Draghi's comments. Earlier, the European Central Bank kept rates unchanged.
Read More ECB leaves rates on hold, focus switches to Draghi
Dow futures earlier fell 100 points in pre-market trade as concerns surrounding global growth, uncertainty in China and fresh lows in oil prices continued to grip markets.
On the data front, the jobless claims came in at 293,000, a six-month high, according to Reuters. The January Philadelphia Fed index showed minus 3.5.
Treasury yields traded lower, with the 2-year yield near 0.80 percent and the 10-year yield at 1.96 percent, as of 9:10 a.m. ET.
U.S. stocks were set to stabilize after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite closed Wednesday at levels not seen since 2014.
U.S. crude oil remained under pressure on Thursday after hitting fresh lows not seen since 2003 Wednesday, as markets anticipate that the persistent oversupply issues will continue to weigh on markets.
Early on Thursday, front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was more than 1 percent lower below $28 a barrel, while internationally traded Brent also fell more than 1 percent to trade near $27.50 a barrel.
"While low oil prices have never provoked a U.S. recession, cheaper crude has not yet provided the expected boost to the U.S. consumer. Fears of a China hard landing have made global markets acutely sensitive to even minor policy changes or slight disappointments in markets and data. The correlation between the Shanghai and U.S. equity markets has soared, and the recent correction can be traced to a modest 1.5 percent devaluation of the Chinese yuan versus the U.S. dollar," said chief investment officer at UBS Wealth Management, Mark Haefele.
, with the Nikkei ending around 2.4 percent lower. That leaves the index deeper into bear territory after losing 3.71 percent in Wednesday's session.
China's main Shanghai Composite ended over 3 percent lower, while the Shenzhen tumbled over 4 percent.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 entered bear market territory Wednesday, closing more than 20 percent below its intra-day peak of 7,122 in April last year.