- Futures up: Dow 0.26%, S&P 500 0.96%, Nasdaq 1.39%
- Microsoft, Meta surge after blowout quarterly results
- Applied Digital soars as Q4 revenue beat on AI-driven demand
July 31 (Reuters) – Wall Street futures pointed to a strong start on Thursday, as blockbuster earnings from Meta and Microsoft signaled Big Tech’s hefty artificial intelligence bets were paying off.
Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab soared 11.4% in premarket trading after the social media giant forecast third-quarter revenue well above estimates, thanks to AI boosting its core advertising business.
Microsoft (MSFT.O)
, opens new tab issued a record capital spending outlook of $30 billion for the current quarter and reported higher-than-expected sales in its Azure cloud computing business. The stock surged 8.8% before the bell.
Other tech heavyweights Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab and Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab also climbed 3.1% and 2.3%, respectively, while Microsoft was on track to hit a $4 trillion market capitalization for the first time.
At 08:40 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 61.25 points, or 0.96%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 326.75 points, or 1.39%, and Dow E-minis were up 117 points, or 0.26%.
A Commerce Department report showed the Personal Consumption Expenditure price index rose 0.3% in June, in line with estimates by economists polled by Reuters. Annually, it stood at 2.6% against estimates of 2.5%.
“We haven’t seen tariffs show up in the data yet. You’re seeing companies able to mitigate tariffs, whether it’s by altering their supply chain, raising prices, or cutting expenses,” said Stephanie Lang, chief investment officer at Homrich Berg.