Futures tied to major U.S. indices traded unevenly as investors weighed a mix of catalysts, including a wave of big tech earnings, a renewed jump in Brent crude prices and a closely watched Federal Reserve rate decision. The flow of developments is set to continue, with more corporate reports and central bank updates on the horizon.
Futures show little overall direction
U.S. equity futures hovered around flat levels early Thursday as markets absorbed a series of high-impact announcements.
At 03:35 ET, Dow futures were down 275 points, or 0.6%, S&P 500 futures slipped 6 points, or 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures edged up 30 points, or 0.1%.
The previous session on Wall Street ended with mixed results, as investors balanced solid earnings releases against the implications of the Fed’s latest policy move.
Big tech earnings spotlight AI investment surge
After the closing bell, several mega-cap technology firms reported quarterly figures, providing fresh insight into the scale of spending on artificial intelligence.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) led what analysts at Deutsche Bank described as a “decent set” of results from the so-called Magnificent 7.
Shares of the Google parent rose in extended trading, supported by stronger-than-expected cloud revenue growth. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) also gained ground, helped by the fastest growth in its Amazon Web Services unit since 2022.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported cloud revenue broadly in line with forecasts and pointed to a pickup in momentum later in the year.
Meanwhile, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) declined after hours after increasing its planned 2026 capital spending by $20 billion, bringing the total to between $125 billion and $145 billion.
Combined, the four companies spent a record $130.65 billion in the first quarter, largely on expanding data center capacity to support AI — a 71% jump from the same period a year earlier.
Oil prices climb on geopolitical developments
As markets digested earnings, oil prices surged to their highest levels since the Iran conflict began in late February, following new geopolitical headlines.
According to Axios, Donald Trump is expected to receive a briefing on the possibility of further military action against Iran, as efforts continue to push Tehran back toward negotiations over its nuclear program.
Trump also posted on social media: “Iran can’t get their act together. They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!”
Analysts at ING said the latest developments have shifted sentiment, noting: “The oil market has moved from over-optimism to the reality of the supply disruption we are seeing in the Persian Gulf.”
Fed decision underscores internal disagreements
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, as expected, but the decision revealed notable divisions among policymakers — the most pronounced in decades.
Rates remain within the 3.5% to 3.75% range, and the central bank left its policy statement unchanged, continuing to signal that the next move could be a rate cut. Four members of the Federal Open Market Committee dissented.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell also said he will remain on the Fed’s board after his term ends in May, breaking with precedent and potentially complicating the transition to Kevin Warsh.
Powell warned about “the series of legal attacks on the Fed,” adding that these “threaten our ability to conduct monetary policy without considering political factors.”
ECB and BoE decisions in focus
Attention now turns to policy decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England due later Thursday.
The ECB is widely expected to hold its deposit rate at 2%, although Deutsche Bank analysts noted that markets are increasingly pricing in a rate increase at the June meeting due to rising energy costs.
“[S]o the question today is whether the ECB validates that view,” the Deutsche Bank analysts wrote.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England is also expected to keep rates unchanged at 3.75%, while highlighting risks from slowing growth and persistent inflation pressures.
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