US STOCKS-Microsoft, Meta's AI-powered results lift Wall St futures to new highs
By Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap
July 31 (Reuters) - S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures climbed to record levels on Thursday, after blockbuster earnings from Meta and Microsoft signaled Big Tech's hefty artificial intelligence bets were paying off.
Meta Platforms META.O soared 12.3% in premarket trading after the social media giant forecast third-quarter revenue well above estimates, thanks to AI boosting its core advertising business.
Microsoft MSFT.O issued a record capital spending outlook of $30 billion for the current quarter and reported higher-than-expected sales in its Azure cloud computing business. The stock surged 8.8% before the bell.
Other tech heavyweights Amazon AMZN.O and Nvidia NVDA.O also climbed 3.4% and 1.9%, respectively, while Microsoft was on track to hit a $4 trillion market capitalization for the first time.
At 06:45 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 63.5 points, or 0.99%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 315.5 points, or 1.34%, and Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 135 points, or 0.3%.
The White House has clinched key trade deals this month, ahead of the August 1 deadline, easing fears of a trade war. That, coupled with the ongoing AI boom, has set U.S. stock indexes on track for robust monthly gains.
The S&P 500 and Dow are eyeing their third consecutive month in positive territory - their longest winning streak in nearly a year, while the Nasdaq was poised for its best monthly run in over 12 months.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 .SPX and blue-chip Dow .DJI ended lower as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell diluted investor expectations for an interest rate cut in September after the central bank kept rates unchanged, as widely expected.
Traders now see a 62.8% chance the Fed will stay pat in September as well, according to CME's FedWatch tool.
Powell said it was too early to predict a September rate cut, and that current policy was not restricting the economy. The statement came after stronger-than-expected GDP data for the second quarter.
Data on Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge - for June is due to be released at 08:30 a.m. ET.
Meanwhile, investors are also bracing for Friday's jobs report and the looming tariff deadline, as Trump stood firm on not extending trade negotiations for lagging partners.
EU officials said European liquor could face 15% tariffs from August 1 until a different agreement is reached, with talks set to continue in the fall.
Trump also announced a trade deal with South Korea on Wednesday, setting an import tariff of 15% for the Asian country, down from a threatened 25%.
However, caution prevailed after he threatened to impose a 25% tariff on India, even as the two nations remain at the negotiating table.
In other stocks, Applied Digital APLD.O soared 24.1% after the data center operator surpassed estimates for quarterly revenue, thanks to AI-driven demand for its cloud infrastructure.
