US equity futures rose ahead of Friday's opening bell amid increasing expectations that US legislators will come up with a stopgap funding measure to prevent a government shutdown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures increased 0.6%, S&P 500 futures rose 1%, and Nasdaq futures were up 1.3%.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer signaled late Thursday he would back the Republican-crafted stopgap funding bill, according to media reports.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.9% at $70.52 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.9% higher at $67.16 per barrel.

The US consumer sentiment index, slated for 10 am ET, is seen dropping to 63.1 in the preliminary report for March from 64.7 in February, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.7% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 2.1% higher, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 1.8% higher. Meanwhile, the UK FTSE 100 rose 0.8%, and Germany's DAX index was up 1.8% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, shares of RLX Technology (RLX) were 6% higher pre-bell after the company reported higher Q4 revenue. Radius Recycling (RDUS) shares surged more than 100% after the company said late Thursday it has agreed to be acquired by Toyota Tsusho America for $30 per share.

On the losing side, Xponential Fitness (XPOF) shares slumped 28%, a day after the company reported a wider Q4 loss and lower revenue.