Earnings season is really revving up on Thursday.
Here are the five things you need to know before the opening bell rings in New York:
1. Earnings bonanza: Big U.S. banks Wells Fargo (WFC) and Bank of America (BAC) are reporting earnings ahead of the bell, alongside Delta Air Lines (DAL) and BlackRock (BLK).
Some of the key companies that reported earlier this week were JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Alcoa (AA).
Related: 20 stocks poised to crush earnings season
2. Economics: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported new inflation data at 8:30 a.m. ET, showing consumer prices rose 0.9% in March compared to last year. The Federal Reserve keeps a close eye on this number when it makes interest rate decisions.
The Bank of England opted to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.5% on Thursday, as expected.
China will post its first quarter GDP at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday -- or 10 a.m. local time on Friday.
A CNNMoney survey of economists predicts that the world's second-largest economy grew at the slowest pace in seven years during the first quarter.
3. Stock market movers -- Chesapeake Energy, Burberry: Shares in Chesapeake Energy (CHK) are volatile in premarket trading after they skyrocketed by about 60% earlier this week. Investors bid shares higher as worries subsided about a liquidity crunch at the oil and natural gas company.
Shares in Burberry (BURBY) are dropping by about 6% in London trading, after the fashion company reported worse-than-expected half year results.
Related: Argentina wins big victory to end 15 years in default
4. International markets overview: U.S. stock futures are firming up, while European markets are looking a bit soft in afternoon trading.
Asian markets mostly ended the day with gains.
Crude oil futures are edging up to trade around $42 per barrel. Gold is down a bit, though the price has rallied by 17% since the start of the year.
5. Wednesday market recap: Stock markets were perky on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 1.1%, the S&P 500 rose by 1% and the Nasdaq rallied by 1.6%.
This follows another strong session on Tuesday.
