Ahead of the market opening, Dow Jones industrial average index futures climbed 0.2%, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite index gained 0.1%.
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On Wednesday,the Standard & Poor's 500 finished off 0.1 of a point, down 0.01% to 1,873.81. The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 35.7 points, or 0.2%, to close at 16,360.18 and the Nasdaq composite index gained 0.1% to 4,357.97.
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World markets were encouraged by an apparent easing of tensions between Ukraine and Russia. Although investors will continue to watch for any signs of escalation in the simmering conflict, their eyes will also be on the monthly policy meeting of the European Central Bank on Thursday and Friday's U.S. jobs report for February.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 237.12 points, or 1.6%, to close at 15,134.75, and Hong Kong's Hang Sen index climbed 123.19 points, or 0.6% to finish at 22,702.97.
European benchmarks were also up. Britain's FTSE 100 index gained 0.3%, Germany's DAX index rose 0.3% and France's CAC-40 was 0.5% higher.
The central bank for the eurozone's 18 countries decided to keep its central rate the same at a meeting of its 24-member rate-setting council at its headquarters in Frankfurt.
It remains at a record low of 0.25%.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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