NextFin News -
1) Pre-Market Performance
U.S. equity futures are higher before the open, with technology leading the rebound. Nasdaq 100 futures are up +383.8 points, or +1.40%, to 27,725.8; S&P 500 futures are up +48.3 points, or +0.66%, to 7,399.5; and Dow futures are up +246 points, or +0.48%, to 52,011.
European equities are also firmer: the FTSE 100 is up +38.19 points, or +0.35%, to 10,946.60; France’s CAC 40 is up +89.20 points, or +1.06%, to 8,497.47; and Germany’s DAX is up +83.08 points, or +0.33%, to 25,543.56.
In commodities and currencies, energy remains volatile after recent Middle East-driven swings. Brent crude is trading around $90.5 per barrel, while WTI crude is around $84.2 per barrel, following a sharp rebound from earlier-week lows. Gold is holding near $4,150 per ounce, supported by geopolitical hedging and rate-volatility concerns, while the U.S. Dollar Index is around 100.8.
2) Hot News
- AI earnings split resets the pre-market tone. Microsoft’s cloud-driven earnings beat is lifting Nasdaq futures, while Meta’s profit decline and weaker-than-expected guidance are keeping investor focus on whether AI capital spending is producing sufficient returns.
- Energy risk premium remains active. Crude prices and supply-risk headlines are keeping inflation sensitivity and transport-cost exposure in focus for equities, leaving energy, airlines, industrials and consumer-discretionary margins exposed to further headline risk.
- European markets extend gains. Benchmarks are broadly positive, reflecting a firmer global risk tone and strength in large-cap cyclicals and exporters.
- Today’s earnings concentration is a key index catalyst. Several mega-cap reports are due after the U.S. close, with Apple and Amazon among the highlights; investors will focus on iPhone demand and services momentum for Apple and AWS, AI infrastructure spending and retail margins for Amazon.
3) U.S. Stock Focus
- Microsoft — Cloud and Azure beat lifts shares. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.0 billion and earnings of $4.81 per share, above Wall Street expectations. Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 27% year over year to $59.3 billion, while Azure and other cloud services revenue increased 43%, driving the stock higher in after-hours trading. Read more
- Meta Platforms — Profit miss weighs on sentiment. Meta reported revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but earnings fell to $6.18 per share and missed analyst expectations. The company guided third-quarter revenue to $61 billion to $64 billion, with the midpoint below consensus, while free cash flow dropped sharply as legal expenses, severance and AI spending pressured results. Read more
- Qualcomm — Outlook offsets quarterly revenue beat. Qualcomm reported adjusted quarterly revenue of about $9.95 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.21, but its fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted EPS outlook of $2.05 to $2.25 came in below market expectations. Investors are focused on Apple-related revenue pressure, handset demand trends and Qualcomm’s diversification into automotive, IoT and AI infrastructure. Company announcement
- Arm Holdings — Revenue beat, guidance watched. Arm reported fiscal first-quarter results with revenue of about $1.29 billion and adjusted EPS near $0.45. Next-quarter guidance will be watched for royalty growth, AI CPU demand and whether operating-expense growth limits margin expansion. Quarterly results
- Lam Research — Strong guidance supports chip-equipment sentiment. Lam guided for fiscal first-quarter adjusted EPS of about $2.00 to $2.30 and sales of roughly $7.7 billion to $8.5 billion, ahead of estimates, supporting AI-related wafer-fab equipment demand. Investor update
- Robinhood — Record revenue and subscriber growth. Robinhood reported second-quarter revenue of $1.31 billion, up 32% year over year, and diluted EPS of $0.62, up 48%. Net deposits reached a record $22 billion, while Robinhood Gold subscribers rose to a record 4.8 million, highlighting momentum across brokerage, subscription and newer financial services. Company release
- Apple — Q3 results due after the close. Apple’s fiscal third-quarter earnings call is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PT today. Consensus expectations center around roughly $108.9 billion in revenue and $1.89 in EPS, with focus on iPhone demand, services growth, China performance and whether AI-related product messaging can support the stock’s premium valuation. Earnings call
- Amazon — AWS and AI spending in focus tonight. Amazon will report second-quarter results after the close at 5:00 p.m. ET. Markets will focus on AWS growth, Trainium-related AI infrastructure demand, retail operating margin and whether capital expenditures are translating into visible revenue acceleration. Earnings announcement
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