US equity futures extended their rebound on Thursday after sharp losses in the previous session, supported by a fresh round of corporate earnings and a recovery in semiconductor stocks. S&P 500 and Dow futures were both up more than 0.5%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1.5%.
Microsoft jumped nearly 10% in premarket trading after reporting a 43% increase in cloud revenue, its fastest pace since 2022. The strong growth, coupled with capital expenditure guidance that did not exceed market expectations, helped ease fears about potentially unsustainable AI-related spending. Chipmakers also saw some relief following yesterday’s selloff, with Micron and SanDisk gaining about 3%.
In contrast, Meta shares slumped 10% after the company’s guidance fell short of expectations. Investors also remained cautious over whether its AI initiatives will translate into the revenue growth implied by the hyperscaler’s commentary.
In fixed income, long-dated Treasury yields held onto their recent surge despite first-quarter GDP growth coming in softer than expected. The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged yesterday, but Chair Warsh’s reluctance to signal any prospect of rate cuts stoked concerns that inflation may remain elevated for longer.
