U.S. stock futures are rising early Thursday as investors cheer the blowout quarterly results from tech giants. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged at yesterday’s FOMC meeting. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), and the S&P 500 (SPX) were up 1.36%, 0.40%, and 1.02%, respectively, at 5:15 a.m. EST on July 31.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
- Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
In Wednesday’s trading session, the S&P 500 continued its decline, ending down 0.12%. The Dow Jones fell 0.38%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.15%.
The major indexes fell on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the Fed is not ready to cut rates yet and that there is no decision to cut rates at the September meeting either. However, the Nasdaq gained on Big Tech’s solid results. President Donald Trump also finalized a 15% tariff deal with South Korea after days of speculation about a 25% tariff.
Notably, Trump also imposed a 25% tariff on Indian imports along with an unspecified “penalty,” as the country remains in no hurry to strike a deal with Washington. Markets are closely watching tariff deals with various countries as the big tariff deadline looms on Friday.
Looking ahead, investors are awaiting key reports on June’s Personal Consumption Expenditures price index and Weekly Initial Jobless Claims.
After the market closed yesterday, Microsoft (MSFT) jumped nearly 9% to hit a $4 trillion market cap following blockbuster Q4FY results. Similarly, Meta (META) rallied 11% on topping Wall Street expectations for Q2. Meanwhile, chipmaker Qualcomm’s (QCOM) stock fell despite surpassing Q3 expectations, and Ford (F) fell after taking an $800 million tariff hit in Q2 earnings.
Looking toward today’s earnings, tech heavyweights Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) will report results after the bell. Other companies releasing earnings include cryptocurrency players Strategy (MSTR), Coinbase Global (COIN), and Riot Platforms (RIOT), as well as AbbVie (ABBV), Mastercard (MA), Roku (ROKU), and CVS (CVS).
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield is down, floating near 4.36%. Also, WTI crude oil futures were trending lower, hovering near $69.89 per barrel as of the last check. Additionally, the Gold Spot U.S. Dollar Price increased to nearly $3,362 per ounce on Thursday.
Elsewhere, European stocks opened higher today, driven by positive earnings reports.
Asia-Pacific Markets Traded Mixed Today
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly in the red on Thursday as investors digested the news of Trump’s 25% tariff on India and the Bank of Japan’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.60%. In China, the Shanghai Composite index fell 1.18%, while the Shenzhen Component declined 1.48%. Japan’s Nikkei climbed 1.02%, and the Topix ended up 0.78%.