US pre-open: Futures higher as Apple and Amazon numbers land

Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the bell on Friday following quarterly updates from 'Magnificent Seven' stocks Apple and Amazon.

Source: Sharecast

As of 1200 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.08%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.71% and 1.23% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 109.88 points lower on Thursday, extending losses recorded in the previous session, after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell hinted that the central bank may not be looking to cut interest rates again at its December meeting.

Tech earnings were in focus before the open on Friday after Apple posted stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday and issued a bullish forecast for its December quarter, as services and Mac sales offset softer-than-expected iPhone revenues, while shares in online retail giant Amazon rallied in pre-market trading after it posted third-quarter earnings that came in ahead of expectations on the back of a sharp acceleration in cloud revenue.

Also in focus, streaming giant Netflix shares traded higher after the company announced a 10-for-1 stock split.

In terms of Friday's earnings, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Colgate-Palmolive were all slared to report their latest quarterly earnings before the opening bell.

Rostro's Joshua Mahony said: "US futures point towards a strong close to the week, with blockbuster earnings from Amazon (+12%) providing a welcome boost. Despite many overlooking Amazon as a core AI play, they posted huge numbers related to their artificial intelligence investments associated with the AWS cloud business. While tariffs clearly provide a headwind for the ecommerce business, the $33bn AWS revenues seen for the quarter means their core product is growing at levels not seen for years.

"Today sees the oil and gas industry come into focus, with ExxonMobil and Chevron both announcing their latest numbers before the US open. Despite Trump's 'drill, baby, drill' policy, his efforts to drive down energy prices will undoubtedly prove problematic for earnings in a world of $60 crude."

On the macro front, the Chicago Federal Reserve's purchasing managers index will be published at 1345 GMT.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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