United States stock futures were mixed in Wednesday's evening trade (Thursday AEST), following fresh record highs on Wall Street and as investors digested earnings from tech giants Alphabet and Tesla.
By 8:40 am AEST (10:40 pm GMT), Dow futures slipped 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures edged 0.1% higher and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.4%.
After the bell on Wednesday, Alphabet and Tesla - members of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks - reported quarterly earnings.
Alphabet rose 1.9% in after-hours trading after the company beat consensus estimates on both revenue and earnings for the second quarter. However, despite the beat, Alphabet’s stock closed the regular session down 1.5%.
The company also raised its full-year capital expenditure forecast to US$85 billion, citing increased AI investment - a move that lifted sentiment around chipmakers Broadcom and NVIDIA.
Tesla, by contrast, fell 4% in extended trade. The EV maker posted a second consecutive quarterly decline in auto revenue, disappointing investors despite overall earnings being broadly in line with expectations.
Among other corporate updates, IBM dropped 5.2% despite reporting Q2 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.80, above expectations of $2.65.
Chipotle Mexican Grill fell 9.6% after projecting flat full-year comparable sales.
MaxLinear surged 23% on better-than-expected quarterly results and upbeat guidance.
ServiceNow climbed 6.9% after topping earnings estimates and raising its full-year subscription revenue outlook.
T-Mobile gained 5% after boosting its forecast for subscriber additions.
The movement followed a positive session for U.S. equities, with the S&P 500 closing at its 12th record high for the year, gaining 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%, ending just shy of a new record. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.6%, finishing above the 21,000 mark for the first time.
Investor sentiment remains supported by improving trade prospects. On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump announced a “massive Deal” with Japan via Truth Social, outlining a 15% reciprocal tariff agreement.
Markets were further buoyed by a Financial Times report that the U.S. is nearing a similar deal with the European Union.
Looking ahead, attention turns to another round of earnings due before the opening bell, including from Dow, Honeywell, American Airlines, and Union Pacific.
Investors will also keep a close eye on several key pieces of economic data: weekly jobless claims, July’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) readings, and new home sales data for June.
