Before the bell: S&P futures +0.4%, Nasdaq futures +0.5%

U.S. stock futures rose as Bank of America Corp. (BAC) rallied after swinging to a profit and after jobless claims plunged to the lowest level since 2008.

Bank of America rallied 5.6% . Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan is cutting assets, expenses and staff while raising capital to meet demands from regulators for a larger cushion against unexpected losses. So far, $50 billion in holdings are gone, and Moynihan’s Project New BAC will eliminate at least 30,000 jobs as the firm seeks to save $5 billion annually. He’s also aiming to quell disputes over faulty mortgages that have cost the bank about $40 billion.

Morgan Stanley (MS) climbed 7.3%. Morgan Stanley posted the only increase in trading revenue excluding accounting gains among the five largest Wall Street banks in 2011, making progress toward Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James Gorman’s goal of boosting market share.

World markets:

Nikkei   8,640 +89.10 +1.04%

Hang Seng 19,943 +256.03 +1.30%

Shanghai Composite 2,296 +29.69 +1.31%

FTSE  5,730 +27.31 +0.48%

CAC  3,320 +55.25 +1.69%

DAX 6,399 +44.31 +0.70%

Crude oil: $101.80 (+1,2%).

Gold: $1657.70 (-0,1%).