Stock futures jump after Microsoft, Meta surge on earnings: Live updates

Stock market futures rose early Thursday after strong quarterly results from two Big Tech players eased concerns that artificial intelligence spending would slow amid economic turmoil.

jumped 1.2%, while gained 1.8%. Futures tied to the climbed 319 points, or 0.8%.

In premarket trading, advanced 6% on revenue in the first quarter. jumped more than 8%, powered by in the fiscal third quarter, as well as strong results from its Azure cloud business and upbeat guidance.

Also before the opening bell, cut its 2025 forecast amid worries over President Donald Trump's tariffs, seeing a tariff-related impact of at least $4 billion. Shares were up nearly 3% in the premarket.

Shares of  traded 0.6% higher after company officials denied reports that its board has .

In the previous session on Wednesday, the and the 30-stock posted gains in volatile trading, coming back from earlier losses. At the day's lows, the broad market index was down more than 2%, while the blue-chip Dow lost more than 780 points.

Traders were initially shaken by weak economic data , showing that gross domestic product fell at an annualized pace of 0.3%. It marked the first quarter of negative growth since Q1 of 2022. Economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast a 0.4% gain. Investors looked past the dismal results and began buying back into the market late in the session, resulting in a rebound into positive territory for the Dow and S&P 500.

Wednesday marked the final trading day in April, in which stocks were first whipsawed after President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariff announcement on April 2 and the subsequent suspension of the highest levies. At one point, during the month, the S&P 500 briefly slipped into – falling more than 20% from its February record high – before recapturing some of its losses. The broad market index wound up ending Wednesday about 9% off its record close.

Still, the comeback couldn't save S&P 500 and the Dow from a losing April, as they slipped about 0.8% and 3.2%, respectively. The , however, advanced 0.9% in the period.

"While market volatility may persist until more tariff certainty emerges, we think the sharpest Trump policy swings are likely behind us and that the outlook is becoming more constructive," UBS Global Wealth Management chief investment officer Solita Marcelli wrote on Wednesday. "[W]ith Trump's first 100 days bringing political uncertainty, shifting trade policies, and choppy markets, we believe investors should focus on strategies that both manage and look through volatility."

Investors now await quarterly results from Apple and Amazon in the afternoon Thursday. Meanwhile on the economic data front, weekly jobless claims data and a reading on the U.S. manufacturing sector are due out Thursday. The key nonfarm payrolls report is due on Friday.

Stocks making the biggest moves before the bell: Microsoft, CVS Health and more

These are the stocks moving the most in premarket trading:

•  — The tech giant jumped nearly 9% after  driven by its Azure cloud business.
•  — The pharmacy retailer climbed 8% after reporting  of $2.25 per share, which exceeded the $1.70 per share analysts polled by LSEG had expected.
•  — Shares popped 6% after the social media company reported  of $6.43 on revenue of $42.31 billion. This beat analysts' expectations of $5.28 per share on $41.40 billion in revenue, according to LSEG.

Read the full list of stocks moving .

— Lisa Kailai Han

McDonald's shares fall after company misses on revenue as U.S. same-store sales decline

Shares of were under pressure on Thursday morning after first-quarter revenue came in below expectations.

The fast food chain reported $2.67 in adjusted earnings per share on $5.96 billion of revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for $2.66 per share on $6.09 billion of revenue.

U.S. year over year, the biggest decline since the second-quarter of 2020.

The stock was last down about 1%. The company will hold a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET.

— Jesse Pound, Amelia Lucas

General Motors cuts full-year outlook, expects a tariffs hit of at least $4 billion

slashed its guidance for the full year on Thursday after the company said earlier in the week that it was amid uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's auto tariffs.

The Detroit automaker now expects adjusted earnings before interest and taxes for the year to come in between $10 billion and $12.5 billion, it disclosed in a . That's down from its prior guidance of $13.7 billion to $15.7 billion.

Additionally, it expects its net income attributable to stockholders to be between $8.2 billion and $10.1 billion, down from the $11.2 billion to $12.5 billion that it previously called for.

GM's updated outlook includes an estimated tariff-related impact of between $4 billion and $5 billion, the company said. This comes after Trump's went into effect April 3.

— Sean Conlon

Planned layoffs eased in April as DOGE cuts plunged

The pace of announced layoffs fell in April as Elon Musk's efforts to pare down the federal workforce tailed off, according to a report Thursday from outplacement form Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Planned job cuts totaled 105,441 for the month, down 62% from April though still the highest total for the month since 2020. Government job cuts specifically those related to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency totaled just 2,731, bringing the annual tally to 281,452 after totaling 216,215 in March.

Technology led announced reductions in April. The year-to-date level for all sectors is at 602,493, the highest since 2020 and an 87% increase from the same period a year ago.

— Jeff Cox

Tariffs 'overshadow' self-help work at UPS, HSBC says

HSBC moved to the sidelines on , with analyst Parash Jain saying that President Donald Trump's tariffs "overshadow" the delivery company's self-help initiatives.

Jain downgraded the stock to hold from buy and slashed his price target by $35 to $105. Still, Jain's new target implies 10.2% in upside over Wednesday's close.

"We believe tariff uncertainties will remain an overhang on UPS' short-term demand outlook and share price," Jain told clients.

Jain's call comes after UPS this week said it would That workforce reduction comes as the delivery giant contends with macroeconomic challenges and an expected decline in volumes from , its largest customer.

UPS beat FactSet consensus expectations on both lines for the first quarter when reporting on Tuesday. But the company did not provide updates on its full-year outlook, citing uncertainty around the macro backdrop.

— Alex Harring

Japanese and Australian markets rise following choppy trade on Wall Street; most Asian markets closed for holiday

Japanese and Australian markets rose Thursday after swings on Wall Street overnight, as data pointing to a contraction in the U.S. economy in the first quarter heightened investors' fears of a looming recession.

Several Asia-Pacific markets, including South Korea, Hong Kong, China and India were closed for the Labor Day holiday.

Japan's benchmark climbed 1.13% to end the day at 36,452.30 while the broader Topix index edged 0.46% higher to 2,679.44. Earlier in the day, the Bank of Japan .

Yields on 10-year Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) fell by 5.4 basis points to 1.259% following the central bank's decision. Meanwhile, yields on 20-year JGBs dropped marginally by 1.5 basis points to 2.184%.

The Japanese yen depreciated 1.06% to 144.58 per dollar.

Over in Australia, the benchmark ended the day 0.24% higher at 8,145.60. The movement comes ahead of Australia's elections on Saturday and marks the index's fifth consecutive session in positive territory.

— Amala Balakrishner

Tesla shares fall on report that company’s board opened search for CEO to replace Elon Musk

Shares of  fell more than 3% in overnight trading on Robinhood following a that its board has initiated a search for a new chief executive to succeed Elon Musk.

The move comes as the electric vehicle giant's sales and profits have been declining rapidly.

Read the full story, .

— Amala Balakrishner

Stocks, dollar more likely to gain in Trump's next 100 days, Capital Economics says

President Trump's next 100 days in office are likelier to prove more favorable to U.S. stocks as the administration turns its attention to fiscal policy, Capital Economics' chief markets economist John Higgins wrote Tuesday.

Chaotic policy is the obvious answer to why stocks and the dollar did so poorly in Trump's first three months, but lofty valuations and Chin'a emerging threat to U.S. "dominance of AI" are others, Higgins wrote.

"How things pan out over the next hundred days in the U.S. and elsewhere will partly hinge on whether U.S. markets (Treasuries in particular) and Corporate America continue to act as effective guardrails against Trump's policies, as they appear to have done since April 2," the economist added. "If that is the case, it's conceivable that U.S. equities and even the dollar will recover ground as his administration's focus shifts from tariffs and trade to fiscal policy."

Successfully addressing government spending, however, depends on agreement on a fiscal package "fairly soon, given the risk of a debt ceiling crisis this summer."

— Scott Schnipper

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

Check out some of the companies making headlines in extended trading:

• — Stock in the technology behemoth climbed more than 6% on the heels of third-quarter results on the top and bottom lines. Microsoft earned $3.46 per share on revenue of $70.07 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG were looking for a profit of $3.22 per share and $68.42 billion in revenue.

• — Shares of the Facebook parent advanced more than 5%. Meta beat analysts' first-quarter estimates when it reported earnings of $6.43 per share and revenue of $42.31 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting a profit of $5.28 per share on revenue of $41.40 billion. Meta also upped its full-year capital expenditures to $64 billion from $72 billion in order to continue investing in data centers to power artificial intelligence. Shares of gained more than 2% on the heels of Meta's spending plans.

• — Stock in the e-commerce company gained more than 2% following news that Amazon plans to in building out its last-mile delivery network in small towns.

Read the full list .

— Brian Evans

Stock futures rise

U.S. stock futures were higher on Wednesday, as investors parsed fresh corporate earnings from technology firms like Meta Platforms and Microsoft.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 added 0.5%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.8%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 67 points, or 0.1%.

— Brian Evans