US pre-open: Futures rise as investors eye earnings, key inflation data

(Sharecast News) - Futures were in the green on Thursday as US equity futures rebounded from the previous session's Fed‑driven decline, with investors turning their attention to a heavy slate of tech earnings and key economic data due later in the day. As of 1245 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.66%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.26% and 0.28% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 280.12 points lower on Wednesday following the Federal Reserve's decision to leave interest rates unchanged, holding its benchmark federal funds rate at 3.5-3.75% in a meeting that could potentially be Jerome Powell's last as chair.

While the decision was widely expected, with markets fully pricing in no change, the vote proved unusually divided, with the Federal Open Market Committee split 8-4 as policymakers differed over how to communicate the outlook for future policy moves.

Tech earnings were also firmly in focus prior to the open, with Microsoft trading lower in pre-market action, even as revenue grew 18% to $82.89bn and net income jumped from $25.82bn to $31.78bn, while Google parent company Alphabet posted first-quarter revenues that topped expectations on the back of its surging cloud business.

Amazon reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue as its cloud sales topped expectations, while shares in Facebook parent company Meta headed south in pre-market trading after the firm reported lower-than-expected capex and missed user growth targets.

As far as Thursday's earnings slate goes, Eli Lilly, Caterpillar and Merck all delivered stronger‑than‑expected first‑quarter results on Thursday, with each company reporting earnings that topped forecasts on the back of robust product demand. Eli Lilly posted a sharp jump in revenue as sales of its weight‑loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro continued to surge, while Caterpillar reported higher profit driven by solid demand for its power‑generation and construction equipment, lifting its shares in pre‑market trade. Merck also beat expectations, supported by ongoing strength in its cancer immunotherapy Keytruda and contributions from newer medicines.

Still to come, Apple will report earnings after the closing bell.

Oil prices were also drawing an amount of investor attention before the open as they pulled back, with Brent slipping 4.19% to $113.08 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate heading 3.01% lower to $103.66 a barrel. Thursday's moves come after crude rose as tensions between the US and Iran remained elevated. The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that Donald Trump had instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, adding to geopolitical pressure in the market.

On the macro front, March's personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, will be published at 1330 BST, as will a preliminary reading of Q1 gross domestic product, March personal income/spending figures and weekly jobless claims from the Labor Department, while April's Chicago purchsing managers index will follow at 1445 BST.







Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com