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US stock futures surged on Thursday as investors weighed a new trade deal with South Korea and strong earnings from Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT).
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) rose 1.1%, while those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) moved up 0.4%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) jumped 1.5% after quarterly reports from Meta and Microsoft wowed Wall Street late Wednesday, sending the stocks of both tech giants soaring.
Meta impressed investors with an earnings beat as well as stronger-than-expected guidance even as the company ramps up its AI spending spree. Microsoft also posted impressive results, showcasing the company’s strength in cloud computing and AI.
Later on Thursday, Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) will report their earnings results.
On the macro front, investors will get another clue as to the possible direction of interest rates with the release of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index.
Stocks were mixed in during the day Wednesday after the Fed held interest rates steady for its fifth-straight meeting, with two Fed governors dissenting.
Following the decision, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed “no decisions” had been made about a September rate cut, undercutting Trump’s claim he had heard a September rate cut was coming.
Easing trade war fears also buoyed markets after the US struck a flurry of trade deals on the eve of President Trump’s tariff deadline.
On Wednesday, Trump announced the US had made a pact with South Korea that imposes a 15% tariff rate on its imports. US exports to the country will not be charged a tariff, according to Trump’s post on Truth Social.
“South Korea will be completely OPEN TO TRADE with the United States,” the president wrote.
Trump said that South Korea also agreed to $350 billion in US investments as well as purchases of liquified natural gas and other energy products.
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Samsung Electronics chip business fell drastically in Q2
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) saw a mammoth drop in profit from the chip-making arm of the electronics giant.
Bloomberg reports:
