5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday

Early data shows the Omicron variant of the coronavirus was less severe than feared, while investors looked ahead to weekly jobless claims and monthly inflation numbers, helped by early data showing that the U.S. stock index futures ticked higher on Thursday.

Two vaccine makers said their shots offered protection against Omicron, as UK data suggested that it may cause proportionally fewer hospitalizations than the Delta coronavirus variant, supporting conclusions reached in South Africa.

World Health Organization officials have warned against drawing firm conclusions about its virulence.

As investors head into the new year after a bumper year for the stock markets, the economic and health impact of the Omicron variant will be in the spotlight.

The S&P 500 has gone for an 87% gain since the end of 2018, its best three-year performance in more than two decades.

The new Omicron variant still casts its shadow over the economy, even though the latest reports support the notion that its health impact is considerably less, Elwin de Groot, head of macro strategy at Rabobank, wrote in a note.

Wall Street's main indexes looked set to wrap up a short week on an upbeat note with trading volumes less than usual ahead of Christmas and New Year holidays.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 13 points, or 0.28%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis rose by 29.5 points, or 0.18%, according to the Dow e-minis.

The e-commerce company's largest shareholder, Tencent, said it would transfer its stake in the company to shareholders, but the NY-listed shares of JD.com slumped 8.7% in premarket trading.

A report on consumer spending in the U.S. is expected to show a 0.6% increase in November after a 1.6% jump in the previous month.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dipped in the last week, according to a Labor Department report.

The Santa Clause Rally kicks off Monday against the backdrop of Omicron worries.

The last five trading days of December and the first two of January have been recorded in the U.S. during the period, according to data from CFRA Research, which includes the last five trading days of December and the first two of January.