US Stock Futures Rise as Earnings Season Continues
Market Overview
US stock futures climbed on Thursday as investors awaited earnings announcements from several tech giants. The NASDAQ 100 (NQ=F) and S&P 500 (ES=F) futures rose 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) futures remained steady.
Earnings Season in Focus
Following the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain interest rates, investors have shifted their attention to corporate earnings. The spotlight was on Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA), which reported their results late Wednesday.
* Tesla shares surged despite missing earnings estimates, as investors welcomed the company's pledge to return to growth in 2025.
* Meta's earnings beat lifted its stock pre-market, but Microsoft's shares dipped after its cloud revenue fell short of expectations.
* Apple (AAPL) is expected to announce its quarterly report after the closing bell, with analysts scrutinizing its iPhone sales performance.
Economic Data and Other News
* The first estimate of fourth-quarter GDP is due later today, with forecasts pointing to a slowdown to 2.6%.
* Weekly jobless claims data is also anticipated.
* The PCE inflation report, set to be released on Friday, is the highlight of the week.
* A fatal collision between an American Airlines (AAL) passenger jet and a US army helicopter dominated headlines.
Analyst Insight
"The issue was in Azure where management attributed new sales execution issues on non-AI services which saw underwhelming consumption in fiscal second quarter and a weaker outlook, where a second half re-acceleration is more uncertain." - Tyler Radke, Citi analyst
"In the end we see a strong revenue growth outlook from increased usage/new products/better targeting/higher prices." - Jeff Wlodarczak, Pivotal Research analyst
"The improvements of the business are going to be taking the AI methods and applying them to advertising and recommendations and feeds and things like that." - Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO