US Futures Advance on Big Tech Earnings

S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed on Thursday as investors assessed quarterly results from the Magnificent Seven technology firms. In extended trading, Alphabet jumped 7% after beating revenue expectations on strong Google Cloud performance, while Amazon rose nearly 3% on solid growth in its cloud computing segment. Microsoft also edged higher, supported by a 40% surge in revenue from its Azure and related cloud services, whereas Meta Platforms slid 7% after reporting weaker-than-expected first-quarter capital spending and disappointing user growth. In regular trading on Wednesday, the Dow and S&P 500 declined 0.57% and 0.04%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.04%. These movements followed the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave policy unchanged as anticipated, though four officials dissented, signaling increasing divisions over the policy outlook amid heightened uncertainty tied to the Iran war.

The Dow Jones Index decreased 266 points or 0.54 percent on Wednesday to close at 48876 points. The decline was led by Boeing (-2.98%), IBM (-2.66%) and Travelers Companies (-2.56%). On the upside, the strongest performers were Visa (8.15%), Cisco Systems (3.07%) and Chevron (1.96%).

US equities closed mixed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held rates unchanged and presented a split outlook, while markets positioned ahead of hyperscaler earnings. The S&P 500 closed flat, while traditional sectors pressured the Dow with a 0.5% loss and tech pushed the Nasdaq 100 to a 0.5% gain. The Fed held rates but regional Fed presidents dissented against an easing bias to underscore concerns of inflation. Visa gained 8% and AbbVie jumped 3% after posting strong results for the last quarter. Also, defensive stocks fell amid the impasse in the Middle East. Microsoft surged 4% before dropping in afterhours despite beating its AI and cloud revenue estimates. Meanwhile, Alphabet jumped over 3% after also beating its cloud computing estimates, while posting strong Gemini AI figures. Meanwhile, Amazon was flat in afterhours despite significantly beating its earnings consensus in the March quarter. In contrast, Meta plunged 7% amid skepticism on its surging AI capex outlook.