US Futures Rise As Apple, Amazon, Airbnb Earnings Boost Market Sentiment: S&P 500 Hits Milestone That's Preceded A 100% Win Rate Since 1956, Says Expert
U.S. stock futures are in the green early Friday, after another winning day for the markets in the regular session on Thursday.
What Happened: The futures markets continue to inch higher following fresh signals from China that it is open to begin trade negotiations with Washington after weeks of stonewalling.
Strong earnings performance by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB), amid growing trade, tariff, and geopolitical headwinds, helped lift investor sentiments following weeks of turbulence and uncertainties.
On Friday, investors will be closely watching the earnings of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK), Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM), and Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO), among several others.
U.S. 10-Year Treasuries are at 4.20%, while the 2-Year Treasuries are at 3.69%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool shows the markets pricing a 93.2% likelihood of interest rates remaining unchanged during the FOMC meeting that is scheduled to take place the first week of May, which marks a decrease from 95% on Thursday.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.54% |
| S&P 500 | 0.50% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.34% |
| Russell 2000 | 1.01% |
The SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (NYSE:SPY) was up 0.71% on Monday, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, was up 1.31%, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session:
The markets were upbeat on Thursday, with most S&P 500 sectors in the green, with tech and consumer discretionary sectors leading the charge. Healthcare, however, witnessed a steep decline, down 2.73% during the day, owing to the 11.66% pullback in Eli Lilly And Co. (NYSE:LLY), following its first quarter earnings.
The S&P 500 itself was up 0.63% during the day, closing at 5,604.14, followed by the Nasdaq Composite at 17,710.74, up 1.52%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 40,752.96, up 0.21%, and the small-cap gauge, Russell 2000, which was up 0.60%, closing at 1,975.86.
Initial jobless claims at 241,000 came in significantly higher than the median forecast of 225,000, which soured sentiments during the day.
As of Thursday, the Nasdaq 100 index was down 10.96% from its previous high of 22,222.61 points. The S&P 500 index was 8.83% lower, as compared to the last record high of 6,147.43 points. On the other hand, Dow Jones was down 9.58% from its 52-week high of 45,073.63 points.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1.52% | 17,710.74 |
| S&P 500 | 0.63% | 5,604.14 |
| Dow Jones | 0.21% | 40,752.96 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.60% | 1,975.86 |
Insights From Analysts:
According to analyst Seth Golden, a chief market strategist at the Finom Group, the S&P 500 having retraced 50% of the bear market at closing on Thursday, points towards the markets going to their all-time high.
Golden says, “Since 1956, when this occurred, the index went on to all-time highs and was higher 12 months forward 100% of the time.”
The only time this didn’t happen, says Golden, was in 2022, when Fed Chair Jerome Powell made his infamous “more pain to come” speech, leading to steeper declines in the market.
Upcoming Economic Data:
- U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls, U.S. Unemployment Rate, U.S. Hourly Wages, and Hourly Wages Year-Over-Year are all set to be announced by 8:30 AM ET on Friday.
- Factory Orders report for March is scheduled to be announced by 10 AM ET.
Stocks In Focus:
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK) is set to release its earnings on Friday, and while there is no clarity on the timing of the announcement, the stock is up 1.12% pre-market. Analysts expect the company to report $4.72 per share in earnings, on $81.59 billion in revenue.
- Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) will be releasing its earnings at 9:30 AM, with analysts expecting $1.73 per share earnings, on $86.1 billion in revenue. The stock is up 0.87% pre-market.
- Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) is scheduled to announce its first quarter earnings by 11:00 AM, with consensus estimates pegging its earnings at $2.15 per share, on $48.4 billion in revenue. The stock is up 0.66% pre-market.
- The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) will be releasing its first quarter earnings before markets open at 8:30 AM, with the stock trading up 1.16% pre-market. Analysts expect $6.35 earnings per share, on $60.4 billion in revenue.
- Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO) is up 1.23% pre-market, with the company expected to release its first quarter earnings before markets open at 8:30 AM. Analysts expect $1.84 in earnings, on $964 million in revenue.
Commodities, Gold And Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil futures are down for the day by 0.65%, trading at $58.87 per barrel, amid growing concerns of a recession and oversupply.
Gold Spot US Dollar has finally broken free from its losing streak, and is up 1.31% on Friday, trading at $3,259.42 per ounce, which is still considerably lower than $3,500.33 per ounce last week. The U.S. Dollar Index is down 0.48%, trading at 99.7175 at the time of writing.
All Asian, Australian, and New Zealand markets are in the green on Friday, barring China’s Shanghai Index which is marginally lower.
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