Early on Thursday, US stock market futures increased slightly following Wednesday's massive sell-off, as investors remain cautious amid growing US treasury bond yields and releases of corporate financial statements. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 123 points or 0.22%, the S&P 500 futures increased by 0.66%, and the NASDAQ 100 futures rose by 0.42%.

The Dow Jones index closed on Wednesday in negative territory, falling by 339 points or 0.9% in its fourth straight day of losses. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite declined by 1.15%. Strong revenues data from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley did not boost the US stock market.

The yield of US Treasury securities increased once again amid market overvaluation, as the Federal Reserve prepares to tighten its monetary policy and hike the interest rate. Next week, the Fed will assess the state of the economy and the inflation rate. The regulator will also signal its future plans. The Fed is unlikely to change the interest rate at this point, although economists see 4 hikes of 0.25 percentage points until the end of the year.

The yield of 2-year US treasury notes, which is connected to the federal funds rate, is currently near 1.04%. The 10-year benchmark bond yield remains at 1.84%.

Today, more major US banks release their earnings reports - Regions Financial and Fifth Third are due to release their Q4 2021 earnings. Union Pacific and Baker Hughes are also set to announce their quarterly earnings. Netflix's report, which is expected to be strong, will be released after the closing bell. The company's stock has already gained 1.0% during the premarket.

Today, US existing home sales data will be released - home sales are expected to rise by 0.3% to 6.48 million. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia would also release its manufacturing survey for January - the manufacturing index, representing the relative level of general business conditions in Philadelphia, is forecasted to rise to 18.5 points. Earlier, the NY Empire State manufacturing index declined into negative territory, reaching -0.5%.

The extremely high volatility in the market could persist further, but it is no cause for panic, economists note, as the economy and the markets would soon adjust to the changed interest rates.

Shares of United Airlines declined by about 1% during the premarket after the company released its quarterly report and stated that the Omicron variant would be detrimental to the company's growth. Furthermore, increases to its flight schedules were pushed back due to Omicron.

Ford Motor stock fell by 2.5% during the premarket. In 2021, the company's share price jumped by 130% over the year on expectations of EV market growth. However, the stock is likely overvalued, analysts warn.

On the technical side, regaining $4,598 would be a serious challenge for the S&P 500 and bullish traders. If the index breaks through $4,598 and closes above it, the bullish momentum could propel it towards strong resistance at $4,665. From there, the index could regain $4,722 and $4,818 in the future. If the S&P 500 remains below $4,598, traders are advised to wait for the index to fall to the support levels of $4,536 and $4,470.