Upbeat Amazon, Apple Earnings May Lead To Rebound On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside after coming under pressure over the course of the previous session.

Early buying interest may be generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from big-name companies like Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL).

Shares of Amazon are soaring by 13.0 percent in pre-market trading after the online retail giant reported better than expected third quarter results amid a sharp increase in cloud computing revenue.

iPhone maker Apple is also seeing notable pre-market strength after reporting fiscal fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and providing upbeat guidance for the current quarter.

Shares of Netflix (NFLX) may also move to the upside after the streaming giant announced its board of directors has approved a ten-for-one stock split.

On the other hand, shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM) may see initial weakness after the energy giant reported third quarter earnings that decreased year-over-year due to lower oil prices.

Stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday, with the Dow joining the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 in negative territory after seeing some strength early in the session.

After ending Wednesday's trading at a record closing high, the tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a particularly steep drop, plunging 377.33 points or 1.6 percent to 23,581.14.

The S&P 500 also slumped 68.25 points or 1.0 percent to 6,822.34, while the narrower Dow posted a more modest loss, slipping 109.88 points or 0.2 percent to 47,522.12.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came amid a negative reaction to earnings news from tech giants Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT).

Facebook parent Meta plunged by 11.3 percent to a five-month closing low after reporting better than expected third quarter results but forecasting an increase in AI spending.

Software giant Microsoft also tumbled by 2.9 percent after reporting fiscal first quarter results that exceeded estimates but also saying capital spending growth will accelerate this fiscal year.

On the other hand, shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) jumped by 2.5percent after the Google parent reported third quarter results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Drug giant Eli Lilly (LLY) also surged by 3.8 percent after reporting better than expected third quarter results and boosting is full-year revenue guidance.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off seemingly positive developments out of President Donald Trump's highly anticipated meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The U.S. has agreed to reduce fentanyl-linked tariffs on China to 10 percent from 20 percent, while China has agreed to resume purchases of U.S. soybeans

China will also suspend the implementation of new export controls on rare earths, and in return, the U.S. will suspend its 50 percent penetration rule on export controls.

Software stocks moved sharply lower amid the slump by Microsoft, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index down by 2.2 percent.

Considerable weakness also emerged among telecom stocks, as reflected by the 2.0 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index.

Steel, computer hardware, retail and semiconductor stocks also came under pressure on the day, while gold networking and pharmaceutical stocks turned in strong performances.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are slipping $0.14 to $60.43 a barrel after inching up $0.09 to $60.57 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after climbing $15.20 to $4,015.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $17.30 to $4,033.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 153.95 yen versus the 154.12 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1558 compared to yesterday's $1.1565.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei hitting a record high on the back of a weaker yen and strong gains in the tech sector, while Chinese and Hong Kong markets retreated after a survey showed Chinese factory activity shrank for a seventh straight month in October.

Easing U.S.-China tensions as well as strong earnings from e-commerce giant Amazon and iPhone maker Apple helped limit regional losses, if any.

China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8 percent to 3,954.79 after an official survey showed a measure of China's manufacturing activity contracted more than expected to hit a six-month low of 49.0 in October, down 0.8 percentage points from the previous month.

The non-manufacturing PMI edged up to 50.1 from 50.0 in the previous month, matching expectations.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.4 percent to 25,906.65 after electric-vehicle maker BYD reported a decline in third-quarter net income and revenue, sending its shares 3.5 percent lower.

Japanese markets climbed to a record high, with exporters and tech stocks leading the surge amid optimism over AI's potential and hopes for aggressive fiscal stimulus under the Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

The Nikkei 225 Index surged 2.1 percent to 52,411.34, while the broader Topix Index settled 0.9 percent higher at 3,331.83.

Tokyo Electron spiked 3.6 percent, Advantest rallied 3.9 percent, Hitachi jumped 7.2 percent and Socionext shares soared 16.7 percent.

Seoul stocks extended gains for a third day to set a new record high due to investor optimism over U.S. tech giant Nvidia's artificial intelligence chip supplies to Korean companies.

The Kospi closed up 0.5 percent at 4,107.50 after a choppy session. Among the top gainers, Hyundai Motor soared 9.4 percent, Naver surged 4.7 percent and Samsung Electronics advanced 3.3 percent.

Australian markets finished marginally lower as consumer discretionary stocks fell on concerns over future demand. Wesfarmers gave up 2.5 percent and JB Hi-Fi lost 3.4 percent.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index gained 0.7 percent to close at 13,548.32, marking its highest level in three weeks.

Europe

European stocks have drifted lower on Friday even as the flash estimate from Eurostat showed Eurozone inflation eased slightly in October largely due to a decrease in energy prices.

The harmonized index of consumer prices rose 2.1 percent on a yearly basis in October following a 2.2 percent increae in September. Inflation came in line with expectations.

Core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco held steady at 2.4 percent in October. The core rate was expected to slow to 2.3 percent.

Earlier in the day, data showed that French consumer price inflation slowed further below the European Central Bank's target in October despite an unexpectedly strong upswing in the economy.

The German DAX Index is down by 0.3 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.2 percent.

Among individual stocks, Fuchs, a German supplier of lubrication solutions, has soared after reporting stronger third-quarter results.

Norwegian engineering firm Aker Solutions has also moved sharply higher after its third quarter earnings beat forecasts.

Danish lender Danske Bank has also shown a strong move to the upside after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter earnings.

Meanwhile, French insurer AXA has fallen after reporting a 6 increase in gross written premiums and other revenues for the first nine months of the year.

U.S. Economic News

Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan is scheduled to deliver opening remarks before "The Evolving Landscape of Bank Funding" research conference at 9:30 am ET.

At 9:45 am ET, MNI Indicators is due to release its report on Chicago-area business activity in the month of October. The Chicago business barometer is expected to rise to 42.3 in October from 40.6 in September, but a reading below 50 would still indicate contraction.

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic and Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack participate in a discussion before "The Evolving Landscape of Bank Funding" research conference at 12 pm ET.