U.S. stock futures were pointing higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 all in the green, following a rough Wednesday session. The move comes as investors digest the Federal Reserve's latest decision to leave interest rates unchanged—a decision that wasn't as unanimous as usual.
In a rare show of dissent, three members of the Federal Open Market Committee voted in favor of a rate hike, reflecting ongoing concerns about inflation that remains stubbornly above the Fed's 2% target. The 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.69%, while the two-year note yielded 4.27%. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, markets are now pricing in a 65.2% probability that the Fed will raise rates at its September meeting.
On the geopolitical front, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) launched airstrikes against targets in Iran on Wednesday evening, responding to what it described as attempted Iranian attacks on U.S. personnel in the Middle East. CENTCOM said on X, "The strikes are a powerful response to yesterday’s attempted Iranian attacks on U.S. forces based in the Middle East."
Here's how the major index futures were shaping up ahead of the open:
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were both higher in premarket. SPY was up 0.32% at $731.78, while QQQ advanced 0.52% to $665.18.
Stocks In Focus
Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) dropped 8.51% in premarket trading after the company reported mixed second-quarter financial results. While revenue and earnings came in roughly in line, the real story was the capital expenditure guidance. Meta now expects full-year capex of $130 billion to $145 billion, up from its prior range of $125 billion to $145 billion. That's a lot of money being poured into AI infrastructure, and investors are clearly nervous about the near-term payoff.
Market data indicates that META maintains a weak price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a good quality score.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) was the star of the morning, jumping 8.09% after reporting better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results on Wednesday after the close. The company's cloud and AI businesses continue to drive growth, and investors rewarded the stock accordingly.
Market data indicates that MSFT maintains a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a moderate growth score.
Qualcomm
Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) fell 4.80% in premarket despite reporting third-quarter revenue of $9.9 billion, which beat the Street consensus estimate of $9.67 billion. The problem was on the bottom line: adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.21, missing the Street estimate of $2.23. Investors are focusing on the miss rather than the revenue beat.
Market data indicates that QCOM maintains a weak price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate value score.
Apple
Apple Inc. (AAPL) was down 0.60% in premarket as analysts expect the company to post quarterly earnings of $1.89 per share on revenue of $108.65 billion after the closing bell. All eyes will be on iPhone sales and any commentary on AI initiatives.
Market data indicates that AAPL maintains a strong price trend in the long, short, and medium terms, with a good quality score.
Amazon.com
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) was 2.47% higher in premarket as analysts expect it to post quarterly earnings of $1.82 per share on revenue of $196.25 billion after the closing bell. The e-commerce and cloud giant's results will be closely watched for signs of strength in AWS and advertising.
Market data indicates that AMZN maintains a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a good growth score.
Cues From Last Session
Wednesday was a rough day for stocks, with all major indices closing lower. Industrials, information technology, and financial stocks were the biggest laggards, while energy and consumer staples managed to buck the trend and close higher.
Insights From Analysts
Technology analyst Luke Lango remains firmly bullish on the stock market and the U.S. economy, arguing that current market anxieties over an "AI risk cocktail" are grossly overblown and already priced into valuations.
Addressing broader economic concerns, Lango emphasizes that elevated oil prices around $85 are "elevated but not stagflationary" and fall far short of the levels that would severely derail economic momentum.
Rather than signaling a structural breakdown, Lango sees a stark disconnect between market sentiment and economic fundamentals. He asserts that "the gap between market fear and fundamental reality is the largest it has been at any point in this AI bull market."
Lango expects the market to recover as investor sentiment realigns with underlying growth metrics. He notes, "gaps like this have historically closed with stock prices moving toward fundamentals, not fundamentals collapsing toward stock prices."
Confident in the durability of the broader economic expansion and technological infrastructure demand, he views the recent technical selloff as lacking long-term narrative justification and expects a "swift and significant" rally as these fundamental clearing signals take hold.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on this Thursday:
- Second quarter advance estimate GDP, weekly jobless claims for the week ending July 25, June's personal income, consumer spending, headline PCE price index, and core PCE price index data will all be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil WTI futures were trading higher in the early New York session, up 0.33% to hover around $84.74 per barrel.
Gold spot US dollar rose 0.09% to hover around $4,069.93 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.06% higher at the 100.9490 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.14% lower at $64,211.09 per coin over the last 24 hours.
Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, as Japan's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and India's Nifty 50 indices rose, whereas South Korea's Kospi, Australia's ASX 200, and China's CSI 300 indices fell. European markets were also mixed in early trade.
