Stocks set to rise after back-to-back losses as June rally resumes

U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday, indicating the resumption of this month's rally, after Wall Street suffered back-to-back losses.

Around 7:15 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a gain of 91 points at the open. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 also rose.

Chipmakers rebounded after posting sharp losses in the previous session, boosting tech shares in the premarket. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) climbed 0.6% before the bell. Applied Materials and Advanced Micro Devices both rose 1% while Micron Technology advanced 0.5%. Apple shares also rose 0.6%.

The major indexes posted small losses in each of the previous two sessions as a rally to start off June took a pause. The major indexes were all up more than 4% for the month, however, after notching sharp losses in May.

Still, lingering trade tensions kept investors on edge. Washington and Beijing have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of one another's goods since the start of 2018, battering financial markets and souring business and consumer sentiment.

Expectations that trade officials from the U.S. and China will clinch a deal on the sidelines of a G-20 meeting in Osaka on June 28-29 have been fading in recent days.

President Donald Trump, who has said he still has plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month, has repeatedly threatened to escalate an already months-long trade war by putting tariffs on almost all of the remaining Chinese imports that are not already impacted by U.S. charges. Trump also declined to set a deadline on levying tariffs on another $325 billion of Chinese goods. 

Oil prices, meanwhile, got a boost amid reports of a tanker incident in the Gulf of Oman. U.S. crude prices traded 3.4% higher at $52.86 per barrel. The jump comes a day after oil slipped to its lowest level in five months amid continued increases in U.S. crude stockpiles and concerns about lower demand growth.

The move higher in oil boosted energy shares. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) jumped more than 1% in the premarket. Devon Energy and Marathon Oil were the best performers within the fund, rising more than 2% each. 

On the data front, import prices for May and the latest weekly jobless claims figures will both be released at around 8:30 a.m. ET.