Stock Futures Rise After Flurry of Tech Earnings; Gold, Silver Set Fresh Records

Stock futures pointed to a higher open Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, as investors mulled a slew of corporate earnings reports, including from a trio of Magnificent Seven tech firms. Meanwhile, gold and silver futures soared to their latest records. 

S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.2% apiece, while those affiliated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1% higher.

Safe-haven gold and silver futures continued their ascents Thursday. A day after surpassing $5,300 an ounce, gold surged to nearly $5,600 and recently was trading up 4% to above $5,525. Silver was trading up 5% to about $119 an ounce after crossing $120 earlier in the day.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the U.S. benchmark, were up 2.5% to around $64.75 a barrel amid U.S.-Iran tensions. 

Yesterday, major equities indexes ended little changed Wednesday after the Fed, as expected, kept interest rates steady at a range of 3% to 3.75%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq finished up 0.3%, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and benchmark S&P 500 ended fractionally higher and lower, respectively, The S&P 500 hit the 7000 level for the first time before closing down by less than a point.

After the closing bell Wednesday, Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META), and Tesla (TSLA)—all members of the Magnificent Seven group of major technology companies—reported quarterly results. Meta shares were up 9% in premarket trading, while Tesla shares added about 2.5% as the companies’ results topped Wall Street expectations. Microsoft stock was down 6.5%, despite beating analysts’ estimates on the top and bottom lines, as slowing growth in its cloud business weighed on sentiment.

Today will be Apple’s (AAPL) turn to report results. The iPhone maker, another member of the Mag 7, is expected to report record revenue for its fiscal first quarter. Apple shares, which pointed slightly higher before the bell, entered the day roughly 11% below their early December highs reached amid positive signals about the global smartphone market and demand for the iPhone 17.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were paced yesterday by tech firms Seagate Technology Holdings (STX), Intel (INTC), Western Digital (WDC), and Texas Instruments (TXN), which soared a respective 19%, 11%, 11%, and 10%. Shares of Seagate and Western Digital were higher before the bell, while those of Intel and Texas Instruments ticked lower.

In post-earnings moves, IBM (IBM), Southwest Airlines (LUV), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Caterpillar (CAT), and Honeywell International (HON) shares advanced 9%, 5.5%, 5.5%, 1% and less than 1%, respectively, while stock slipped 1%. Mastercard (MA) also was set to report results.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury—which impacts interest rates on a variety of consumer loans including mortgages—was at 4.25%, little change from Wednesday’s close.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of global currencies, was down 0.1% at 96.39 and remains near its lowest level in more than four years. Bitcoin was trading at around $87,800, down from its overnight high of more than $89,300.