US Market Outlook: Major stock futures see increase, Nasdaq Futures up 1.3% on strong earnings

In early trading on Thursday, the major U.S. stock futures indices experienced an increase, with Nasdaq Futures showing a rise of approximately 1.3%. The U.S. core PCE annual rate in June surpassed expectations, recording a 2.8% increase, the highest since February, compared to the market’s anticipated 2.7%. The second quarter’s annualized quarterly rate of the core PCE price index also exceeded expectations. Most prominent tech stocks demonstrated positive movement in pre-market trading, with Meta Platforms (META.US) soaring by nearly 12%, Microsoft (MSFT.US) up more than 8%, and Amazon (AMZN.US) and NVIDIA (NVDA.US) showing gains of over 2%.

Certain Chinese stocks also exhibited strong pre-market performance, such as TAL Education (TAL.US) with a gain of over 10%, Kingsoft Cloud (03896.HK) rising by more than 7%, and Bilibili (BILI.US), GDS Holdings (GDS.US), and PONY.AI (PONY.US) all displaying gains of more than 2%. Microsoft experienced significant growth in its AI cloud sector, leading to the stock’s surge of over 8% in Pre-Market Trading, placing its Market Cap on the verge of breaking $4 trillion. The company’s fourth-quarter revenue of $76.44 billion marked an 18% year-over-year increase, surpassing the estimated $73.89 billion. Revenue from their Intelligent Cloud business, which includes Azure, reached $29.88 billion, growing 26% year-over-year and surpassing the $29.1 billion estimate.

Microsoft’s Net income for the quarter was $27.2 billion, showcasing a 24% year-over-year growth, with EPS of $3.65 compared to $2.95 in the previous year. Azure revenue experienced a significant 39% growth during the quarter, surpassing analysts’ predictions primarily due to increased demand for AI services. Azure and other cloud services generated over $75 billion in revenue for the entire fiscal year 2025, indicating a 34% increase from the previous year.

Meta Platforms also revealed impressive financial results, with their second-quarter revenue of $47.52 billion marking a 22% year-over-year increase, surpassing market expectations. Their Diluted EPS stood at $7.14, up 38% year over year and exceeding market projections. Meta Platforms predicts third-quarter revenue to fall between $47.5 billion and $50.5 billion, with the midpoint of this range surpassing the average analyst estimate of $46.2 billion.

The company emphasized the need for continual growth in its social media advertising business to support its ongoing investments in AI. Meta has revised its 2025 capital expenditure forecast upwards to $66 billion to $72 billion, projecting additional expenses particularly in infrastructure construction and employee compensation. Quantum computing was highlighted as a key accelerator for cloud computing by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, leading to a strengthening of related concept stocks in pre-market trading.

Overall, several U.S. companies reported better-than-expected results, causing a surge in high-performing stocks. Companies like Carvana (CVNA.US), Applied Digital (APLD.US), TAL Education (TAL.US), Biogen (BIIB.US), and CVS Health (CVS.US) all saw positive movements in pre-market trading thanks to their impressive financial performance and revenue exceeding expectations. WeRide (WRD.US) also released its quarterly earnings report, displaying significant growth in revenue compared to the previous year, setting new records in various aspects of their business segments.