Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to see further upside after ending the previous session sharply higher.
Technology stocks appear poised to extend yesterday’s rally amid a sharp increase by shares of online retail giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Shares of Amazon are soaring by more than 10 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected second quarter revenue and cloud growth.
Overall buying interest may be somewhat subdued, however, as the price of crude oil shows a strong move back to the upside following yesterday’s pullback.
U.S. crude oil futures are surging by nearly 2 percent, contributing to an increase in treasury yields amid concerns about the outlook for inflation and interest rates.
A steep drop by shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) may also limit the upside for the broader markets, with the tech giant plunging by 8 percent in pre-market trading.
Apple is under pressure after the company reported fiscal third quarter revenue that exceeded analyst estimates but issued weak guidance for the current quarter.
Stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Thursday, largely offsetting the sell-off seen late in Wednesday’s session. The major averages showed a strong move to the upside early in the session and remained firmly positive throughout the day.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq helped lead the way higher, spiking 679.24 points or 2.8 percent to 25,122.18. The S&P 500 also shot up 121.48 points or 1.7 percent to 7,437.63 and the Dow jumped 613.92 points or 1.2 percent to 52,508.06.
The recovery rally on Wall Street largely reflected strength among technology stocks, as reflected by the surge by the Nasdaq.
Bargain hunting contributed to the strength among tech stocks after the Nasdaq plunged to a three-month closing low on Wednesday. The Dow and the S&P 500 also ended the session at their lowest closing levels in well over a month.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) helped lead the tech rally, with the software giant soaring by 15.5 percent after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings amid strength in its Azure business.
With Microsoft leading the way higher, substantial strength was visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 8.4 percent spike by the Dow Jones U.S. Software.
Semiconductor stocks also saw a significant rebound, resulting in a 8.2 percent surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index bounced off a three-month closing low.
Shares of Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) skyrocketed by 18 percent after the semiconductor equipment maker reported fiscal fourth quarter results that exceeded estimates.
Outside of the tech sector, airline stocks saw considerable strength amid a pullback by the price of crude oil, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index jumping by 5.2 percent.
Gold, brokerage and oil service stocks also turned strong performances, while pharmaceutical, housing and healthcare stocks showed significant moves to the downside.
Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) also bucked the uptrend, with the Facebook parent plunging by 8 percent after providing disappointing revenue growth guidance.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing consumer prices edged down in line with estimates in the month of June. The annual rate of growth also slowed in line with expectations.