US stock futures rise as earnings optimism outweighs COVID concerns, while bitcoin climbs after Elon Musk's comments

• US stock futures rose on Thursday as investors cheered strong earnings from major companies.
• Stocks fell on Monday on concerns about COVID cases, but have since rebounded.
• Bitcoin rose again after Elon Musk and other influencers spoke favorably of the asset.

US stock market futures rose on Thursday as company earnings season helped boost optimism, outweighing concerns about rising coronavirus cases across the world's major economies.

Meanwhile, bitcoin continued to rebound from Tuesday's sub-$30,000 prices after Elon Musk and other crypto influencers spoke favorably of the asset.

S&P 500 futures climbed 0.16% while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.17%, as stocks rebounded from a sharp fall on Monday. Dow Jones futures moved 0.2% higher.

Asian stocks rose after US equities climbed on Wednesday on the back of strong corporate earnings, with China's CSI 300 up 0.15% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rising 1.84%.

European stocks followed suit, with the continent-wide Stoxx 600 rising 0.63% ahead of the European Central Bank's interest rate decision at 7.45 a.m. ET.

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A series of strong earnings reports lifted US stocks on Wednesday and appeared to be boosting sentiment on Thursday. Coca-Cola raised its forecasts for full-year sales and profit, while telecoms giant Verizon beat expectations.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, more than 85% of firms in the S&P 500 who have reported so far have outperformed expectations.

"The worries expressed on Wall Street at the beginning of the week continued to evaporate yesterday… amidst a flow of corporate earnings reports that mostly beat expectations," said Chris Scicluna, head of research at Daiwa Capital Markets.

"The main focus today will be on the conclusion of the ECB meeting, where the Governing Council will adjust its forward guidance to take account of its recent strategic policy review conclusions including the 2% symmetric inflation target."

However, rising COVID-19 cases, driven by the delta variant, remain a concern for markets. This has been one of the factors driving government bonds, whose prices have risen and yields have fallen as investors rethink their forecasts of strong growth and inflation.

Yet the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose 1.6 basis points to 1.298% on Thursday. The 10-year yield has rebounded from a drop to as low as 1.133% on Monday as investors bought bonds on concerns about rising cases.

In the crypto world, bitcoin rose 1% to $32,133 after jumping on Wednesday when Elon Musk said SpaceX holds the token and that Tesla was likely to start accepting it again. Ether also rose for the second day.

Brent crude oil was also lifted by investor optimism, rising 0.61% to $72.67 a barrel. WTI crude climbed 0.68% to $70.77 a barrel.

Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, said: "We see reasons to look beyond the delta variant headlines and stay risk-on, with a tilt toward reflation and reopening beneficiaries."