U.S. stock futures moved in different directions on Thursday, with enthusiasm for a potential U.S.-EU trade agreement supporting hopes for new market highs, even as investors reacted to quarterly results from tech giants Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).
Dow Jones futures fell 0.4%, pressured by a sell-off in IBM (NYSE:IBM) following its earnings release, just after the Dow nearly reached its first record close of the year. Meanwhile, Nasdaq 100 futures gained about 0.3%, and S&P 500 futures showed little movement, coming off a fresh all-time high.
Alphabet topped second-quarter earnings estimates and reiterated its commitment to heavy AI investment. Shares of the Google parent rose in early trading alongside AI-focused names like Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), boosting tech sector indices. In contrast, Tesla shares declined after missing earnings forecasts, experiencing ongoing weakness in European sales, and CEO Elon Musk’s cautionary note on upcoming “rough quarters” due to the elimination of tax credits by President Trump’s budget bill.
The earnings calendar continues Thursday with reports from Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL).
Trade optimism remained elevated after a U.S.-Japan trade deal helped push the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to new record highs on Wednesday.
Media reports suggest the EU and U.S. are close to an agreement that would reduce tariffs on most European imports to 15%, rather than the previously threatened 30%. This new rate could serve as the baseline for reciprocal tariffs scheduled to begin August 1, according to President Trump’s remarks on Wednesday. He had earlier set a 10% baseline tariff in his sweeping April tariff actions.
“We’ll have a straight, simple tariff of anywhere between 15% and 50%,” Trump said at an AI summit. “A couple of — we have 50 because we haven’t been getting along with those countries too well.”
Investors also awaited a batch of economic reports—including weekly jobless claims, U.S. manufacturing and services indexes for July, and new home sales—all important indicators ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming July meeting.
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