Futures are rallying

Stock futures are higher on Thursday morning, following a close in the red yesterday.

Near 8:40 a.m. ET, Dow futures were up 51 points, S&P 500 futures were up 6 points, and Nasdaq futures were up 9 points - all by less than 0.5%.

Stocks closed lower yesterday after Fed chair Janet Yellen repeated that the FOMC will consider an interest-rate hike in December. She said it was "a live possibility", while speaking to the House Financial Services Committee.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of other major currencies, rose to a three-month high. And the two-year treasury yield, most sensitive to interest-rate expectations, jumped to the highest levels in four years.

There'll be more commentary from FOMC members today, with Bill Dudley and Dennis Lockhart set to speak.

Initial jobless claims rose by 16,000 to 276,000 last week, the Department of Labor said. That was more than expected. Claims have now been under 300,000 for eight months.

Facebook shares rose to an all-time high after-hours on Wednesday after the company reported profits and revenues that topped estimates.

Results from Walt Disney, Kraft Heinz and Shake Shack are due after the closing bell.