According to index futures, the three major New York benchmarks are expected to rise between 0.20% and 0.30% early in the session.

In Europe, the trend is broadly higher, with the CAC 40 up 0.99% at 8,395.14 points, after hitting a fresh all-time high shortly after the open this morning at 8,437.35 points.

Investors have already digested a US labor-market data point: weekly initial jobless claims rose to 227,000 last week, or 5,000 more than expected. The prior week's figure was slightly revised up to 232,000 from 231,000 previously.

The day before, all eyes were already on the monthly jobs report, which showed 165,000 jobs added in January, far above the 65,000 expected, with the unemployment rate down 0.1 percentage point to 4.3%. However, significant annual revisions were made. Total nonfarm payroll change for 2025 was cut from +584,000 to just +181,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Following the release of these statistics, the probability of the Fed cutting rates at its June meeting edged slightly higher, rising from 47% to 49.3%, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Another US data release is particularly awaited and will be published on Friday: January inflation, a figure closely watched by the US Federal Reserve.

On the corporate earnings front, releases are beginning to "thin out". Several major groups, such as Airbnb, will report after US markets close tonight.

In currency markets, the dollar is nearly flat against the single currency (+0.01%) and trades at €0.8422.

Bitcoin is regaining a bit of ground (+1.39%) and trades at $67,969.

In commodities, oil is down (-0.62%, to $64.46 for WTI in New York) and precious metals are mixed. Gold adds 0.06% to $5,063 an ounce, while silver slips 0.24% to $82.55 an ounce.