S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose on Thursday as investors digested quarterly results from the “Magnificent Seven” mega-cap technology companies. In after-hours trading, Alphabet jumped 7% after surpassing revenue forecasts on the back of strong performance at Google Cloud, while Amazon gained nearly 3% thanks to robust growth in its cloud computing business. Microsoft also inched higher, supported by a 40% surge in revenue from Azure and related cloud services. In contrast, Meta Platforms fell 7% after reporting weaker-than-expected first-quarter capital expenditures and underwhelming user growth.
During Wednesday’s regular session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 slipped 0.57% and 0.04%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.04%. These moves came after the Federal Reserve left its policy stance unchanged, as widely expected, but with four officials dissenting — a sign of mounting divisions over the policy outlook amid heightened uncertainty linked to the war in Iran.
