Equity futures for Japan, Australia and Hong Kong all rose. The S&P 500 advanced for a fourth day Wednesday, extending this week’s gains to 2.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 has climbed 3.5% this week.

In China, investors are focused on official purchasing managers index data due Thursday that is forecast to show further weakness in manufacturing and slowing growth in services. In U.S. corporate news, Apple is testing the use of 3D printers to produce smartwatch components.

Meanwhile, Brent crude was trading above $85 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was above $81-mark. The yield on the 10-year U.S. bond was trading at 4.11% and Bitcoin was below 28,000-level.

At 5:30 a.m., the GIFT Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India was up 30 points or 0.15% at 19,479.

India’s benchmark stock indices retreated advances to end marginally higher as the market witnessed profit booking in the last hour of trade after logging steady gains through Wednesday. The Sensex ended above the 65,000 mark, whereas the Nifty slipped below the 19,400 level.

Realty and metal sectors rose the most, while banks reversed gains to be the top loser. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 hit a record high intraday.

Overseas investors turned net sellers of Indian equities on Wednesday. Foreign portfolio investors sold stocks worth Rs 494.68 crore and domestic institutional investors remained net buyers and mopped up equities worth Rs 1,323.24 crore.

The local currency weakened 2 paise to close at Rs 82.73 against the U.S dollar on Wednesday.