Dow Futures are up about 90 points in early trading on Thursday, pointing to a rebound after yesterday’s pullback.
Strong earnings from Microsoft and Meta are doing the heavy lifting, giving the market something to cheer about.
The S&P and Nasdaq hit fresh records, so there’s some momentum, but the mood’s still cautious.
Global markets are all over the place, trade tensions are hanging in the air, and inflation data later today could shake things up. More earnings are coming too, so this rally’s got a few hurdles to clear.
5 things to know before Wall Street opens today
1. Strong earnings from Microsoft and Meta Platforms have sent S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures to record levels. Meta surged over 12% premarket after projecting better-than-expected Q3 revenues, citing AI-fueled growth in its ad business.
Microsoft’s Azure cloud results and capital spending forecasts also beat estimates, spurring an 8% stock jump and positioning Microsoft for a $4 trillion market cap for the first time.
2. The Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged, with Chair Jerome Powell signaling it is “premature” to expect a rate cut at the next September meeting despite positive US GDP data.
Investors will closely watch today’s release of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the PCE index, which could influence rate expectations further. Markets currently price in about a 57% chance of a rate cut in September.
3. President Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods starting Friday and warned of additional penalties linked to India’s Russian oil imports.
Meanwhile, the US reached a 15% tariff deal with South Korea as part of a new trade agreement. European spirits exports to the US may face new tariffs if further deals aren’t made.
4. While US tech stocks are rallying, broader markets remain mixed amid trade tensions and the monthly options expiry.
The India Sensex and Nifty fell in response to tariff news, and volatility gauges ticked higher.
Bank of America strategists suggest hedging for August, historically a turbulent period for US equities.
5. Besides Big Tech, investors await results from major names like Apple and Amazon later today, plus economic data including initial jobless claims and the critical PCE inflation report.
These could shift market direction as they reveal the health of both the US consumer and corporate sector.
Apple is on deck to report later today, with Wall Street looking for modest growth. Q3 earnings per share are expected to land between $1.42 and $1.43, and revenue is pegged around $89 billion, right in line with the company’s guidance for low to mid-single-digit gains.
Amazon’s numbers are expected to show a bit more juice: $162.1 billion in revenue, up 9.5% from a year ago, with EPS seen at $1.33, a 5.6% bump.
With Amazon shares up roughly 44% since April, this report is being watched closely, not just for what it says about the company, but as a broader read on the health of e-commerce and cloud computing.
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