United States stock futures edged lower on Wednesday evening (Thursday AEST) as investors assessed a fresh wave of corporate earnings, rising artificial intelligence spending, and renewed concerns over higher oil prices.
By 10:15 am AEST (12:15 am GMT), Dow futures, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were each down by 0.1% as markets digested mixed corporate results from major technology and industrial companies.
In extended trading, Alphabet declined 2.5% after the Google parent raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to US$195 billion to $205 billion, citing strong demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Shutterstock dropped 6.1% after announcing it would suspend its quarterly dividend. The move came after former chief executive Paul Hennessy stepped down effective immediately on 13 July, two weeks after Getty Images abandoned plans to acquire the company.
ServiceNow gained 5.3% after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly results. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.90, ahead of expectations of $0.86, while revenue reached $3.99 billion, above estimates of $3.93 billion.
IBM slipped 0.6% after its quarterly results fell slightly short of analyst expectations. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.93, missing forecasts of $2.95, while revenue of $17.16 billion was below estimates of $17.48 billion.
Tesla shares fell 3.6% after the electric vehicle maker reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.33, below expectations of $0.53. Revenue exceeded forecasts, reaching $28.24 billion compared with estimates of $26.42 billion.
Texas Instruments declined 2.5% despite beating expectations on both earnings and revenue. The semiconductor company reported earnings per share of $2.14, above estimates of $1.94, while revenue came in at $5.46 billion, ahead of forecasts of $5.26 billion.
During regular trading, Wall Street finished mostly lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.01%, the S&P 500 declined 0.14%, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6%.
Investors also remained focused on oil markets after crude prices moved higher on Wednesday following another round of U.S. strikes against Iran and comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Tehran was “not serious about talks.”
Markets are closely monitoring energy prices, with sustained oil gains potentially adding to inflation pressures and complicating the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook.
Investors will face another busy earnings session on Thursday, with reports due from companies including Dow, American Airlines, T-Mobile, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern before the opening bell.
Intel is scheduled to release results after markets close.
