Upbeat Earnings From Meta, Microsoft May Spark Early Rally On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a sharply higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to show a strong move to the upside after ending yesterday’s choppy trading session narrowly mixed.

Early buying interest is likely to be generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from tech giants Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT).

Facebook parent Meta Platforms is spiking by 11.3 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported better than expected second quarter results and provided upbeat third quarter revenue guidance.

Shares of Microsoft are also surging by 8.8 percent after the software giant reported fiscal fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

The futures remained firmly positive after the Commerce Department released a closely watched report showing consumer prices increased in line with economist estimates in the month of June.

Following the modest pullback seen during Tuesday’s session, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing narrowly mixed.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 31.38 points or 0.2 percent to 21,129.67, the S&P 500 edged down 7.96 points or 0.1 percent to 6,362.90 and the Dow fell 171.71 points or 0.4 percent to 44,461.28.

The mixed closed by the major averages came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged in a divided vote.

In support of its dual goals of maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run, the Fed said it decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25 to 4.50 percent.

The decision to leave rates unchanged was not unanimous, however, as Fed Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller preferred to lower rates by a quarter percentage point.

During his post-meeting press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank has not made a decision about lowering rates in September.

“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 U.S. economic front, payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of July.

The report said private sector employment jumped by 104,000 jobs in July after slipping by a revised 23,000 jobs in June.

Economists had expected private sector employment to climb by 78,000 jobs compared to the dip of 33,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Commerce Department also released a report showing the U.S. economy rebounded by more than expected in the second quarter of 2025.

The report said real gross domestic product surged by 3.0 percent in the second quarter after falling by 0.5 percent in the first quarter. Economists had expected GDP to jump by 2.5 percent.

The rebound by real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected a decrease in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, and an increase in consumer spending, the Commerce Department said.

Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

Transportation stocks showed a substantial move to the downside, however, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average tumbling by 3.0 percent.

Significant weakness was also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

Energy and commercial real estate stocks are also saw notable weakness on the day, while semiconductor and brokerage stocks moved to the upside.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are falling $0.32 to $69.68 a barrel after climbing $0.79 to $70 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after slumping $28.40 to $3,352.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $9.80 to $3,362.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 150.23 yen versus the 149.51 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1429 compared to yesterday’s $1.1405.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday, with the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision, tech earnings, U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and Chinese data in focus.

Japanese markets outperformed as the Bank of Japan held interest rates steady and offered a cautiously optimistic view on the economic outlook.

Gold prices surged above $3,300 per ounce despite the dollar extending its bullish run. Oil prices steadied after three days of gains.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.2 percent to 3,573.21 as data showed Chinese factory activity unexpectedly deteriorated in July to a three-month low.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.6 percent to 24,773.33 after Chinese leaders signaled they would refrain from rolling out more major stimulus for now.

Japanese markets rallied, the yen strengthened, and shorter-dated bonds pared declines after the Bank of Japan revised up its inflation forecasts. Investors also cheered encouraging retail sales and industrial output data for June.

The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.0 percent to 41,069.82, while the broader Topix Index settled 0.8 percent higher at 2,943.07. Shares of companies that benefit from falling copper prices climbed, with Fujikura and Furukawa Electric surging 6-7 percent.

Seoul stocks ended slightly lower to snap a six-day winning streak as investors assessed Samsung’s second-quarter earnings results and the economic impact of the long-awaited tariff deal between Seoul and Washington.

The Kospi dipped 0.3 percent to 3,245.44 as Trump announced a blanket tariff of 15 percent on South Korean imports under a new deal.

The agreement includes a South Korean investment of $350 billion in the U.S., but other non-tariff barriers, as well as security and foreign exchange issues, were left out.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.7 percent after it second quarter net profit missed forecasts. Chip giant SK Hynix surged 3.8 percent, while battery maker LG Energy Solution gave up 2.7 percent.

Australian markets ended slightly lower ahead of Trump’s August 1 tariff deadline.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.2 percent to 8,742.80 as stronger-than-expected retail sales data dampened expectations of a rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia. The broader All Ordinaries Index ended 0.2 percent lower at 8,999.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index fell 0.3 percent to 12,823.74.

Europe

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Thursday as investors digest a slew of earnings and react to a flurry of trade and tariff-related announcements from U.S. President Donald Trump on the eve of his Friday deadline.

In economic news, preliminary data showed inflation remained unchanged month-on-month in two important German states in July.

The number of people out of work in Germany increased by 2,000 in July, significantly below analyst expectations, labor office figures revealed.

While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.4 percent.

French utilities company Veolia Environnement declined 1.7 percent after reporting a decline in first-half revenue.

Ipsen, a specialty care biopharmaceutical company, lost 4 percent despite delivering strong first-half results and upgrading its full-year guidance.

Hotel group Accor plunged 12 percent as revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key industry metric, came in below forecasts in the second quarter.

Airline Lufthansa was marginally higher and peer Air France-KLM surged 4.3 percent after reporting higher second-quarter profits.

Reinsurer SCOR slumped 4 percent despite reporting strong Q2 results.

Construction, media and telecoms group Bouygues declined 3.4 percent as it reported weak organic growth for the first half of the year.

Lender Societe Generale surged 6.2 percent after raising its full-year profitability target.

Drug maker Sanofi gave up nearly 3 percent on reporting lower-than-expected profit for the second quarter.

German defense electronics maker Hensoldt rallied 3.5 percent as it reported solid revenue growth and a record order backlog in its H1 2025 results.

Swiss cement giant Holcim rose 1.1 percent as second-quarter profit came in above expectations.

ArcelorMittal, the world’s second-largest steelmaker, shed 3.6 percent after cutting its forecast for steel demand outside of China.

France’s Safran surged 4 percent and U.K.’s Rolls-Royce Holdings soared 9 percent after raising their profit outlooks.

British American Tobacco gained more than 1 percent as first-half profit beat estimates.

Energy major Shell advanced 1.5 percent as second-quarter profit beat expectations and the company said it would buy back $3.5 billion of shares over the coming three months.

U.S. Economic News

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly higher in the week ended July 26th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 218,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 217,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 224,000.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average slipped to 221,000, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 224,500.

A closely watched report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of June.

The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose by 0.3 percent in June after inching up by an upwardly revised 0.2 percent in May.

Economists had expected the index to climb by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

The annual rate of growth by the PCE price index accelerated to 2.6 percent in June from an upwardly revised 2.4 percent in May.

Economists had expected the annual rate of growth by the index to accelerate to 2.5 percent from the 2.3 percent originally reported for the previous month.

The report said the core PCE price index, which excludes food and energy prices, also rose by 0.3 percent in June after edging up by 0.2 percent in May. The increase matched economist estimates.

The annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index for June came in at 2.8 percent, unchanged from an upwardly revised reading for May.

Economists had expected annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index to come in unchanged compared to the 2.7 percent originally reported for the previous month.

The Federal Reserve’s preferred readings on consumer price inflation were included in the Commerce Department’s report on personal income and spending.

The report said personal income rose by 0.3 percent in June after falling by 0.4 percent in May, while personal spending also increased by 0.3 percent in June after coming in flat in May.

At 9:45 pm ET, MNI Indicators is scheduled to release its report on Chicago-area business activity in the month of July. The Chicago business barometer is expected to rise to 42.0 in July from 40.4 in June, but a reading below 50 would still indicate contraction.