Yesterday's downturn appears to have been short-lived, as stock futures rally once again. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are up triple digits, with the former on track to set another record high. S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures sit in the black as well.

The Cboe Volatility Index had receded to its lowest level of the month by early Thursday, signaling that investors' fears of another imminent stock-market blowup have abated. But futures contracts tied to the index are telling a different story,

Stock futures were modestly higher ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's preferred measures of inflation, as major indexes hover near all-time highs.