Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Extend Rally As Big Tech Earnings Revive AI Trade: AMZN, AAPL, NBIS, RDDT In Focus

• Amazon.com added more than 9% in extended trading hours after its quarterly revenue and earnings beat Wall Street expectations.
• Microsoft’s stronger-than-expected quarterly results boosted the stock up more than 15% at close and also sent AI-related stocks higher.
• On the geopolitical front, conflict between the U.S. and Iran continued to escalate, with Iran striking U.S. bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain. 

U.S. futures edged higher in the overnight session late Thursday after a strong rebound on Wall Street, helped higher by upbeat earnings from Big Tech companies and an inflow into AI-linked names. 

Meanwhile, softer-than-expected U.S. personal consumption expenditures reading, the Fed’s preferred measure to gauge inflation, reaffirmed that core inflation pressures are under control for now.

Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 1.17%, Dow futures were up 0.35%, and S&P 500 futures gained 0.39% at 9:09 PM EDT.  

At the close of the regular trading session, all benchmark indexes closed higher, helped by a rebound in top companies. The Nasdaq Composite led the gains, adding nearly 700 points to close up 2.78%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.19% at close after ending the previous session down more than 1,000 points. The S&P 500 gained 1.66%. 

Despite the decline in the recent sessions, all three indexes are on track to close higher this week, if gains hold through Friday. 

What’s Driving US Markets?

U.S. futures on Thursday were bolstered higher by strong results from Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), which added more than 9% in extended trading hours after its quarterly revenue and earnings beat Wall Street expectations. Meanwhile, AWS cloud sales jumped 37%, gaining for the fifth consecutive quarter.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) also posted results after-hours, posting revenue of $109.4 billion, a 16% increase from from the same period last year, and earnings rose to $2.02 per share, beating consensus estimates. However, a shortfall in service revenue and signals of persistent supply chain friction led to a decline in the stock. 

Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) stronger-than-expected quarterly results, driven by a strong Azure growth and surging AI adoption while maintaining its capex plans, boosted investor confidence that hyperscalers’ heavy AI spending can deliver meaningful returns, lifting the stock up more than 15% at close and also boosted AI-related stocks.

Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, told Reuters that Microsoft’s strong results could put the stock on track “to be able to move itself from the 'battleground' camp to be ​a 'trusted AI winner' stock." 

Memory chip stocks also soared on Thursday, with Micron Technologies (MU) and Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) surging by over 18% and 25% each at the close. The rise reversed about a week of losses for chip stocks, boosting the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) nearly 7% higher and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) gained 8.5% at close. 

“Market leadership is expanding beyond the ‘Magnificent 7’ as investors increasingly reward improving fundamentals rather than hype-driven momentum,” Richard Bernstein, global head of macro and customized investing​ at Janus Henderson Investors, told CNBC. 

On the geopolitical front, conflict between the U.S. and Iran continued to escalate, with Iran striking U.S. bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain after American forces bombed a building on Qeshm Island.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a post on X , “The United States soils its hands with a new crime every day; the terrorist attack on the residential homes of civilians on Qeshm Island is a continuation of the atrocities in Minab and Lamerd. Americans have grown accustomed to making up for the slaps they receive on the battlefield by spilling the blood of the innocent. They will pay the price.”

Global oil prices were climbing higher at the time of writing. Brent crude futures expiring in September gained about 0.4% to $89.38 a barrel. Meanwhile, WTI crude futures expiring in September were trading at $83.83per barrel, up about 0.29% at the time of writing. 

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the Board of Peace had reached a “HISTORIC agreement” for the “COMPLETE DISARMAMENT” of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza. “This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY,” he said. 

On the economic front, core PCE inflation rose 3.3% annually in June, remaining well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, while U.S. second-quarter GDP growth slowed to 1.5%, missing the 1.8% forecast.

Trending Stocks To Watch 

Apple Inc. (AAPL): The iPhone maker was trending amid its second-quarter (Q2) results that beat estimates. However, stock price still declined amid waning investor sentiment following its weak revenue outlook after CEO Tim Cook pointed to challenges. 

Nebius Group (NBIS): The company’s stock jumped more than 27%, boosted higher by gains in the broader AI sector after Microsoft and Meta’s earnings eased market fears about a slowdown in AI infrastructure spending.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN): The e-commerce giant was also trending amid the announcement of its quarterly results, which sent shares soaring over 9% after-hours. The company’s earnings per share surged to $5.75, a substantial rise from $1.68 in the prior year and ahead of Wall Street expectations. 

Reddit Inc. (RDDT): The social media stock garnered retail attention due to its second-quarter earnings, with shares falling about 9% despite an earnings beat. CEO Steve Huffman said search traffic from external search engines turned volatile toward the end of the quarter, fueling concerns that AI-generated search summaries are reducing click-through traffic to Reddit.

Other Market Trends 

Yields on the 10-year Treasury were at 4.661% amid rising geopolitical tensions, while spot gold prices fell to $4,086.69 per ounce. 

Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) all edged higher at the time of writing. 

Retail sentiment for SPY was ‘bearish,’ while it was ‘neutral’ for QQQ and DIA. 

The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was up 0.12% amid ‘neutral’ sentiment.

Asian markets were trading mixed at the open on Thursday. South Korea's KOSPI and Japan’s Nikkei 225 were trading higher at the time of writing. China’s SSE Composite declined, while Australian stocks also edged higher. 

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