U.S. stock futures indicate a higher open on Thursday as investors respond positively to robust earnings reports from tech giants Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Meta’s shares jumped 11.3% in pre-market trading after the company beat expectations for its second-quarter results and issued optimistic revenue guidance for the third quarter.
Microsoft also posted strong fiscal fourth-quarter results, beating analyst estimates for both earnings and revenue, sending its stock up 8.8% ahead of the open.
Investor optimism was further supported by a Commerce Department report showing consumer prices rose in June as forecasted.
Following Tuesday’s modest pullback, Wednesday’s trading was relatively directionless, with major indexes fluctuating near the unchanged line before finishing with mixed outcomes.
The tech-focused Nasdaq gained 31.38 points, or 0.2%, closing at 21,129.67. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 slipped 7.96 points, or 0.1%, to 6,362.90, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 171.71 points, or 0.4%, to 44,461.28.
The day’s mixed results came after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in a split decision, keeping the federal funds target range at 4.25% to 4.50%. The Fed reaffirmed its dual mandate of promoting maximum employment and maintaining inflation near 2%.
Two Fed members, Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, dissented, favoring a quarter-point rate cut.
During his post-meeting remarks, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said a decision on September rate cuts hasn’t been made yet.
“We don’t do that in advance,” Powell said. “We’ll be taking that information into consideration and all the other information we get as we make our decision.”
On the labor front, ADP reported private sector job growth of 104,000 in July, beating forecasts of 78,000 new jobs.
The Commerce Department also released strong GDP data, showing U.S. real gross domestic product rose 3.0% in Q2—outperforming the expected 2.5% increase and rebounding from a 0.5% contraction in Q1.
This surge was primarily due to lower imports, which boost GDP figures, and increased consumer spending.
Despite this economic strength, most sectors showed limited movement, resulting in a broadly muted market day.
Transportation stocks fell sharply, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average losing 3.0%.
Gold stocks also dropped, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down 2.9%.
Energy and commercial real estate sectors struggled, while semiconductor and brokerage shares showed gains.
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