Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Rise Ahead of Key Inflation Report; Major Indexes on Track to Post January Gains

Stock futures are higher Friday morning as investors respond to a steady stream of earnings reports and await the release of a closely followed inflation indicator.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively, in recent trading, while those tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%. The major indexes remain on track to post gains for the month, despite a roller-coaster week of trading fueled by corporate results, the Federal Reserve’s latest decision on interest rates and the revelation that Chinese startup DeepSeek had launched a highly effective, low-cost AI model.

Apple (AAPL) was among the big gainers in premarket trading Friday, with shares rising 4% after the iPhone maker late yesterday reported better-than-expected earnings.

Other large-cap technology stocks were mostly higher this morning, with Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META), Amazon (AMZN), Tesla (TSLA) and Broadcom (AVGO) all gaining ground. AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA), which has been hard hit in the wake of the DeepSeek news, was down another 1.5% today.

Among other noteworthy post-earnings movers before the bell, Intel (INTC) shares were down about 1% after the beleaguered chipmaker reported a narrower-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter but issued a disappointing outlook. Atlassian (TEAM) shares soared 20% after the software company issued an upbeat revenue outlook amid robust demand for its AI products.

Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM) were up 0.5% after the oil major released its quarterly results, while rival Chevron (CVX) slid 1.5% ahead of the bell.

Market participants are awaiting the release this morning of the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation. The Personal Consumption Expenditures Index for December is expected to show that inflation accelerated last month, reinforcing the likelihood that the Fed won’t be in a hurry to cut interest rates any time soon. The central bank earlier this week opted to leave its influential fed funds rate unchanged, after having cut it by a full percentage point since September, as the economy has continued to show strength and inflation remains stubborn.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which is correlated with expectations about where interest rates are headed, inched higher this morning to 4.52%.

Bitcoin was little-changed at around $105,000, while gold futures held steady around $2,845 an ounce and WTI crude oil futures inched higher.