U.S. stock index futures climbed on Thursday, paced by a sharp premarket rally in Microsoft after the software company posted stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results and said its outsized spending on artificial intelligence is meeting robust customer demand. The upbeat report provided a lift to sentiment across markets, even as broader gains were limited by a firm Federal Reserve stance after its recent policy announcement and by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East that supported oil prices.
At 05:54 ET (09:54 GMT), S&P 500 futures were up 31 points, or 0.4%. Nasdaq 100 futures had gained 208 points, or 0.8%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 146 points, or 0.3%.
Major premarket movers
Microsoft led the movers after an 8.4% pre-open jump. The company reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $90.01 billion, an 18% year-over-year increase that exceeded analyst expectations of $87.62 billion. Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $4.74, topping the $4.24 consensus by a material margin. Management commentary that AI-related spending is generating strong demand helped underpin the rally.
Quanta Services climbed 12.1% after the infrastructure services firm reported second-quarter results that beat Wall Street forecasts, extending a streak of quarterly earnings beats. The company also entered the trading session with supportive analyst commentary that underscored optimism about demand tied to power grid upgrades and AI-related infrastructure investments.
Huntington Ingalls Industries rose 11.3% following better-than-expected second-quarter results. Investor sentiment was bolstered by news that the shipbuilder’s Newport News division was awarded a share of roughly $76.6 billion in U.S. Navy contract modifications covering additional Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines. The company also kept its quarterly dividend unchanged.
Notable declines
Meta Platforms weighed on investor appetite for technology stocks after a sharp post-earnings drop. Check Point Software slid 8.1% after reporting quarterly revenue below estimates and trimming its full-year revenue guidance, a disappointing outlook that followed recent analyst downgrades citing competitive pressures and execution concerns.
Biotechnology name Capricor Therapeutics plunged 58.3% after an FDA advisory committee voted 9-3 against the company’s lead cell therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, concluding that late-stage trial data did not provide sufficient evidence of effectiveness. The advisory committee view prompted a wave of analyst downgrades and significant downside in the stock.
Align Technology fell 5.3% as the Invisalign maker issued third-quarter revenue guidance below analyst expectations. Although second-quarter results broadly met forecasts, investors focused on a softer outlook and specific weakness in its Systems and Services business despite an increase in share repurchase activity.
Hospitality and media names also saw notable moves: Hyatt Hotels dropped 4.8% after second-quarter results that failed to meet elevated investor expectations, reinforcing concerns around recurring revenue misses. Sirius XM ceded 5.7% as profit-taking followed a substantial run-up in the stock and lingering worries about subscriber declines and heightened competition from streaming services.
Other corporate developments
Trinity Industries eased about 3% as investors appeared to lock in gains after quarterly results, following a period in which analyst forecasts had been revised sharply higher ahead of the report. ImmunityBio received marketing authorization in the United Arab Emirates for ANKTIVA across two cancer indications, a development that lifted the stock 7.5% and expanded the immunotherapy’s international regulatory footprint to 34 countries.
Market backdrop and takeaways
Investors entered the session navigating a mix of company-specific news and broader macro drivers. Microsoft’s strong earnings and positive AI demand commentary provided momentum, but that thrust was constrained by an increasingly hawkish tone from the Federal Reserve and by geopolitical friction in the Middle East, which continued to prop up oil prices. The net effect produced a market environment in which some names surged on favorable company developments while others fell sharply after missed expectations, unfavorable guidance, or regulatory setbacks.
With results continuing to arrive across sectors, market participants appear to be differentiating between firms benefiting from AI-related investment and those facing competitive, execution, or regulatory headwinds. The uneven reaction among individual stocks highlights ongoing sectoral rotation and the sensitivity of equities to both macro policy signals and discrete corporate news flows.
Bottom line
Microsoft’s beat and its AI commentary provided an offset to broader caution driven by Fed hawkishness and geopolitical tensions, producing modest gains in futures. At the same time, earnings and regulatory developments produced sharp divergences among individual stocks, underscoring an intraday landscape shaped by company-specific catalysts and macro uncertainties.