S&P 500 stock futures rise after Microsoft, Meta post earnings beats: Live updates

Stock futures rose on Wednesday after two Big Tech players posted quarterly results.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 138 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures jumped 0.8%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1.3%.

In extended trading, Meta Platforms advanced more than 5% on stronger-than-expected revenue in the first quarter. Microsoft jumped nearly 7%, powered by top- and bottom-line beats in the fiscal third quarter, as well as strong results from its Azure cloud business and upbeat guidance.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P 500 and the 30-stock Dow posted gains in volatile trading, coming back from earlier losses. At the day’s lows, the broad market index was down more than 2%, while the blue-chip Dow lost more than 780 points.

Traders were initially shaken by weak economic data from the Commerce Department, showing that gross domestic product fell at an annualized pace of 0.3%. It marked the first quarter of negative growth since Q1 of 2022. Economists polled by Dow Jones sought a 0.4% gain. Investors looked past the dismal results and began buying back into the market late in the session, resulting in a rebound into positive territory for the Dow and S&P 500.

Wednesday marked the final trading day in April, in which stocks were first whipsawed after President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff announcement on April 2 and the subsequent suspension of the highest levies. At one point, during the month, the S&P 500 briefly slipped into a bear market – falling more than 20% from its February record high – before recapturing some of its losses. The broad market index wound up ending Wednesday about 9% off its record close.

Still, the comeback couldn’t save S&P 500 and the Dow from a losing April, as they slipped about 0.8% and 3.2%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite, however, advanced 0.9% in the period.

“While market volatility may persist until more tariff certainty emerges, we think the sharpest Trump policy swings are likely behind us and that the outlook is becoming more constructive,” UBS Global Wealth Management chief investment officer Solita Marcelli wrote on Wednesday. “[W]ith Trump’s first 100 days bringing political uncertainty, shifting trade policies, and choppy markets, we believe investors should focus on strategies that both manage and look through volatility.”

On Thursday, investors await quarterly results from CVS Health, Eli Lilly and McDonald’s in the morning, followed by Apple and Amazon in the afternoon.

On the economic data front, traders await weekly jobless claims data and a reading on the U.S. manufacturing sector. The key nonfarm payrolls report is due on Friday.

Stocks, dollar more likely to gain in Trump’s next 100 days, Capital Economics says

President Trump’s next 100 days in office are likelier to prove more favorable to U.S. stocks as the administration turns its attention to fiscal policy, Capital Economics’ chief markets economist John Higgins wrote Tuesday.

Chaotic policy is the obvious answer to why stocks and the dollar did so poorly in Trump’s first three months, but lofty valuations and Chin’a emerging threat to U.S. “dominance of AI” are others, Higgins wrote.

“How things pan out over the next hundred days in the U.S. and elsewhere will partly hinge on whether U.S. markets (Treasuries in particular) and Corporate America continue to act as effective guardrails against Trump’s policies, as they appear to have done since April 2,” the economist added. “If that is the case, it’s conceivable that U.S. equities and even the dollar will recover ground as his administration’s focus shifts from tariffs and trade to fiscal policy.”

Successfully addressing government spending, however, depends on agreement on a fiscal package “fairly soon, given the risk of a debt ceiling crisis this summer.”

— Scott Schnipper

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

Check out some of the companies making headlines in extended trading:

• Microsoft — Stock in the technology behemoth climbed more than 6% on the heels of better-than-expected third-quarter results on the top and bottom lines. Microsoft earned $3.46 per share on revenue of $70.07 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG were looking for a profit of $3.22 per share and $68.42 billion in revenue.

• Meta Platforms — Shares of the Facebook parent advanced more than 5%. Meta beat analysts’ first-quarter estimates when it reported earnings of $6.43 per share and revenue of $42.31 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting a profit of $5.28 per share on revenue of $41.40 billion. Meta also upped its full-year capital expenditures to $64 billion from $72 billion in order to continue investing in data centers to power artificial intelligence. Shares of Nvidia gained more than 2% on the heels of Meta’s spending plans.

• Amazon — Stock in the e-commerce company gained more than 2% following news that Amazon plans to invest $4 billion in building out its last-mile delivery network in small towns.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

Stock futures rise

U.S. stock futures were higher on Wednesday, as investors parsed fresh corporate earnings from technology firms like Meta Platforms and Microsoft.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 added 0.5%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.8%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 67 points, or 0.1%.

— Brian Evans