Futures pointed higher Thursday as investors also weighed the Fed's decision to hold rates and rising Treasury yields
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"This is ultimately a tale of two AI investment strategies. One company is increasing profits while spending heavily, while the other is allowing those costs to eat into its bottom line," Stephen Evans, chief investment officer at Pave Finance, told CNBC. "Microsoft's results suggest concerns about slowing growth may have been overstated," he added. "Meta's advertising business remains strong, but it must now demonstrate greater cost control and more consistent returns from its investment before confidence fully returns."
Chipmakers also came under pressure, with Qualcomm $QCOM stock down 5.1% and Arm stock down more than 7% before the opening bell.
Futures tied to broader indexes pointed higher. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%, those on the S&P 500 were up 0.5%, and Nasdaq $NDAQ 100 contracts rose 1.1%. The gains followed a brutal Wednesday session in which the Dow shed more than 1,100 points, its steepest one-day loss since April 2025, according to CNBC.
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at its Wednesday meeting — its seventh consecutive hold — sending long-dated Treasury yields higher. The 30-year yield climbed to 5.23%, a level not seen since approximately 2007, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Sameer Samana, head of global equities and real assets at Wells Fargo $WFC Investment Institute, said that "The Fed remains patient and in a wait-and-see mode, and will continue to monitor how the economy evolves in the upcoming months," and noted that the September meeting could still yield action should inflation data warrant it.
Oil markets were also drawing attention following U.S. retaliatory strikes against Iran, with Brent crude changing hands near $87 a barrel — about $15 above where it stood before hostilities erupted, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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