Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Take A Breather Near Highs: Why AAPL, META, RDDT, RBLX, CUE Are Keeping Traders Engaged Today

• Early market action suggests a pause after a blockbuster April rally led by AI and mega-cap tech.
• The White House argued that a recent ceasefire resets the 60-day War Powers clock, while Iran threatened ‘painful strikes’ if U.S. attacks resume.  
• Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting kicks off in Omaha today.

U.S. stock futures were subdued early Friday as investors took a breather following a historic April, the best month for markets since 2020. Traders are watching for developments in the Middle East amid a critical deadline for the Trump administration. The White House argued that a recent ceasefire resets the 60-day War Powers clock, while Iran threatened ‘painful strikes’ if U.S. attacks resume.  

As of 4:00 a.m. ET on Friday: Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were flat, while Russell 2000 futures declined 0.1%.

Retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, has moved to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ territory, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, has stayed in the ‘bullish’ territory after markets closed out April at record highs. 

Trending Stocks To Watch

Apple (AAPL): Stock rose 3% in early premarket trade after beating Q2 estimates and forecasting strong revenue growth despite supply constraints. 

Reddit (RDDT) is also seeing an post-earnings rally, surging 16% in early premarket trading.

Rivian Automotive (RIVN) slipped 4% in early premarket trading as investors reacted to a lack of fresh details on the upcoming R2 SUV. While Nio Inc (NIO) slipped 3% after the Chinese EV maker reported a decline in April deliveries,  casting a shadow over its SUV launch push.

Roblox (RBLX): Tanked 22% after slashing its full-year bookings guidance well below analyst projections. 

Meta Inc (META): Investors will be tracking the ongoing child safety litigation in New Mexico, though ARK Invest added 47k shares on Thursday. 

Veeva Systems (VEEV): It is set to join the S&P 500 on May 7, replacing Coterra Energy following its acquisition by Devon Energy. Michael Burry called it ‘undervalued’.

Cue Biopharma (CUE) continued its upmove, rising another 40% in early premarket trading after it announced a $30 million private investment in public equity financing, an exclusive Phase 2 anti-IgE antibody license, and a CEO appointment. 

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Akanda Corp (AKAN), Sandisk Corp (SNDK), Eli Lilly (LLY), and Atlassian Corp (TEAM).

Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting kicks off in Omaha today. 

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, traders will be watching the release of April manufacturing data. 

On earnings radar, watch out for quarterly reports from Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), Aon (AON), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Estee Lauder (EL), Church & Dwight (CHD), AutoNation (AN), Terex (TEX), Lear (LEA), Cinemark (CNK), and WisdomTree (WT) before the bell today.

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