Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the upward move seen over the course of the previous session.

The futures advanced following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of September.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.3 percent in September after climbing by 0.4 percent in August. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by another 0.4 percent.

The report also said the annual rate of growth by consumer prices ticked up to 3.0 percent in September from 2.9 percent in August, although that was slower than the 3.1 percent jump expected by economists.

Excluding food and energy prices, the core consumer price index crept up by 0.2 percent in September after rising by 0.3 percent in August. Core consumer prices were expected to increase by another 0.3 percent.

The Labor Department also said the annual rate of growth by consumer prices slowed to 3.0 percent in September from 3.1 percent August. Economists had expected the pace of growth to remain unchanged.

The relatively tame inflation data is likely to increase confidence the Federal Reserve will continue to lower interest rates in the coming months.

Early buying interest may also be generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from big-name companies like Intel (NASDAQ:INTC).

Shares of Intel are surging by 6.0 percent in pre-market trading after the semiconductor giant reported better than expected third quarter sales.

Auto giant Ford (NYSE:F) is also jumping by 3.6 percent in pre-market trading after reporting third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) are also seeing notable pre-market strength after the consumer products giant reported fiscal first quarter results that exceeded expectations.

Following the weakness seen during Wednesday’s session, stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Thursday. The major averages all moved higher on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a notable advance.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the end of the day but remained in positive territory. The Nasdaq jumped 201.40 points or 0.9 percent to 22,941.80, the S&P 500 climbed 39.04 points or 0.6 percent to 6,738.44 and the Dow rose 144.20 points or 0.3 percent at 46,734.61.

Energy stocks saw substantial strength on the day as the price of crude oil skyrocketed after the Trump administration announced sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies.

The Treasury Department announced sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, citing Russia’s “lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.”

President Donald Trump recently expressed some optimism about ending the drawn-out Russia-Ukraine war before suddenly canceling a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index spiked by 4.8 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index jumped by 3.0 percent.

Substantial strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 4.0 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) helped lead the sector higher, with the data storage device maker soaring by 13.7 percent to a record closing high.

Networking, semiconductor and steel stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while transportation stocks showed a notable move to the downside.

The strength on Wall Street came as the markets shrugged off an initially negative reaction to corporate earnings news from companies like Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and IBM Corp. (NYSE:IBM).

Shares of Tesla showed a significant turnaround over the course of the session, jumping by 2.3 percent even though the electric vehicle maker reported weaker than expected third quarter earnings.

Tech giant IBM ended the day down by 0.8 percent but was well off its lows. The company reported third quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates but slowing growth in its core cloud computing business.

Meanwhile, shares of Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON) shot up by 6.8 percent after the industrial giant reported third quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the National Association of Realtors showed existing home sales in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of September.

NAR said existing home sales jumped by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.06 million in September after dipping by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.00 million in August. The rebound matched expectations.

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