Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq futures tick up as Tesla stock falls after earnings
US stock futures fluctuated on Thursday as oil prices surged and Wall Street parsed the latest batch of quarterly results from closely watched companies, including Tesla (TSLA) and IBM (IBM).
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) hovered below the flat line. Contracts on the broad benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) ticked up 0.1%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose about 0.2%.
A flood of third-quarter earnings arrived after Wednesday’s closing bell. Tesla shares fell over 3.5% after the EV maker posted mixed third-quarter results, kicking off the “Magnificent Seven” earnings cycle. IBM stock dropped around 6.5%, as stronger-than-expected profits were offset by in-line software revenue that nevertheless disappointed investors.
Next highlights are results from T-Mobile (TMUS) and Blackstone (BX), set to report before market open on Thursday, while Intel (INTC) takes center stage after the bell.
Meanwhile, oil futures jumped after the US placed sanctions on Russia’s giant producers, piling pressure on President Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Brent crude (BZ=F) gained as much as 3.9% to trade near $65 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) rose toward $61.
On the trade front, President Trump said a long-anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi is “scheduled,” offering a bit of reassurance to markets unsettled by rising US-China tensions. Stocks came under pressure early Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the White House could expand restrictions on China-bound software exports by Nov. 1.
Also looming is the release of September consumer inflation data on Friday, delayed due to the US government shutdown. The reading is in even higher focus than usual, given that the stoppage — now in its fourth week — has dried up the flow of official economic reports. Investors are hoping for clues about the Federal Reserve’s next moves, to test expectations for another quarter point interest-rate cut at its meeting next week.
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