Wall Street poised for another Fed-fueled rally
U.S. stock index futures signaled a higher open on Friday following Thursday's rally, which saw the Dow industrial average climb more than 400 points for the first time in three years, fueled by comments from the Federal Reserve.
Wall Street cheered the Fed's pledge to remain patient on the timing of increasing interest rates, offering markets some relief after weeks of volatility.
Positive data Thursday, showing jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 289,000 last week - the lowest since early November, also encouraged sentiment.
Investors are now hoping the Fed may have helped prime stock markets for a delayed "Santa rally" if the consistently weak oil price and free-fall seen in the Russian ruble don't flare up.
Read MoreRally or not, market volatility looms
"The Christmas magic continues in markets. Janet Yellen has pulled off a very neat trick in getting rates markets to react to a 'more hawkish than expected' FOMC while the equity market rallies in relief that they were not too hawkish. Speaks volumes about positioning, says less about what happens in the cold light of January 2015," said global head of currency research at Societe Generale, Kit Juckes.
Oil will still be in investors' sight as Brent crude held below $60 a barrel near a five-and-a-half-year low on Friday as a global supply glut continued.
There are no major data releases expected on Friday. Companies reporting earnings include BlackBerry, CarMax and Finish Line.
European shares were higher in morning trade on Friday, following the stellar rally in Asian and U.S. equities overnight.