By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

(Reuters) -S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures inched higher on Thursday, aided by strong quarterly results from Bank of America, while investors awaited economic data that could offer insights into the health of the world's largest economy.

At 6:52 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 89 points, or 0.20%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 17.75 points, or 0.30% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 106.25 points, or 0.50%.

Bank of America rose 2.3% in premarket trading after the country's second-largest bank's profit rose as its investment bankers capitalized on resurgence in dealmaking in the fourth quarter and interest income rose.

Morgan Stanley added 2% ahead of its quarterly results.

In the previous session, Wall Street's main indexes logged their biggest one-day jump since Nov. 6 after data indicated that underlying inflation was subsiding and three of the country's biggest banks reported bumper results.

The S&P 500 banks index and the regional banks index have outperformed Wall Street's top indexes so far in January, as investors anticipate a favorable business environment for the sector under President-elect Donald Trump. The sentiment was reiterated by bank CEOs on Wednesday.

Of the 28 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported fourth-quarter earnings as of Wednesday, 82.1% have surpassed estimates, according to data compiled by LSEG.

On the data front, retail sales data for the month of December is due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Reuters expect a 0.6% increase, compared with a 0.7% rise in the previous month. A weekly report on jobless claims is also expected later in the day.

Following Wednesday's inflation report, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note has eased from its 14-month high and was last at 4.66%.

Traders now see the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in July, according to data compiled by LSEG. They had all but priced out any reductions for 2025 earlier in the week.

"The deceleration in yesterday's core (inflation) figures should quiet the tut-tutting of armchair central bankers who had criticized the Fed's December rate cut," said Peter Graf, chief investment officer at Nikko Asset Management Americas.

"With both inflation and employment trending sideways for the time being, market expectations can coalesce around a hold in interest rates, and investors can turn their focus to upcoming earnings and policy announcements."

On Capitol Hill, Senate confirmation hearings are underway for Trump's Cabinet picks and Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent will face questions at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Markets will scrutinize his plans to implement the president-elect's proposals on tariffs, tax-cuts and deregulation, at a time when the U.S. national debt stands over 100% of national output.

Dow component UnitedHealth dropped 4.7% after the insurer reported fourth-quarter revenue below estimates.

U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co rose 5.2% after the company posted a record quarterly profit on surging demand for chips used in artificial intelligence processing.

Other chip stocks Nvidia rose 1.9% and Broadcom added 2%.

Target rose 2.5% after raising its holiday-quarter comparable sales forecast, buoyed by robust shopper demand for clothing, toys and beauty products in November and December.