(Reuters) -Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq surged to record highs on Thursday after strong earnings from tech giants Meta and Microsoft reinforced investor confidence that artificial intelligence investments are paying off.
Meta Platforms soared 11.5% in premarket trading after the social media giant forecast third-quarter revenue well above estimates, thanks to AI boosting its core advertising business.
Microsoft 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 8.3%.
Other tech heavyweights such as Amazon and Nvidia also climbed 3.2% and 1.6%, respectively, while Microsoft was on track to hit a $4 trillion market capitalization for the first time.
At 05:53 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 151 points, or 0.34%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 302.5 points, or 1.29%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 60.5 points, or 0.95%.
The Wall Street indexes are also set for monthly gains amid easing trade tensions and renewed enthusiasm around AI.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow 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.
Powell said it was too early to predict a September rate cut, adding that current policy is 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. Traders see a 56.8% chance for a September rate cut, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Investors also braced for Friday’s non-farm payrolls data and tariff deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has vowed to not grant any extension to trading partners that fail to secure a deal.
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 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 soared 26% after the data center operator surpassed estimates for quarterly revenue, thanks to AI-driven demand for its cloud infrastructure.
(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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