Ford shares rose 3% before the bell on Thursday as the company's unionized workers were set to return to work following a tentative agreement between the automaker and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union guaranteeing a record wage hike.

Rival General Motors' shares also rose 1% as analysts expected the automaker to follow Ford in reaching a deal that would end a strike at some of its most profitable plants.

The total economic loss from the autoworkers' strike has reached $9.3 billon, consultancy Anderson Economic Group said earlier this week.

The proposed deal between Ford and the UAW provides a 25% wage hike over the 4-1/2-year contract, starting with an initial increase of 11%.

GM and Stellantis have previously offered a 23% wage increase.

Stellantis' U.S.-listed shares were down 1.5% in premarket trading on Thursday as the automaker announced a $1.6 billion deal to buy a 21% stake in electric-vehicle maker Leapmotor.

Ford and GM shares trade 6.2 times and 4.3 times forward profit estimates, respectively.

The focus will now be on ratification by Ford's 57,000 UAW workers.

"We estimate the ratification will take 1-2 weeks. The process starts on Oct. 29 when the UAW Council votes to send the tentative agreement to members," said Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan, adding that the deal will be a template for GM and Stellantis.

(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)