US pre-open: Better-than-expected tech earnings fuel futures

Wall Street futures were firmly in the green ahead of the bell on Thursday after some better-than-expected big tech earnings overnight.

As of 1220 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.45%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.72% and 1.06% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 164.55 points lower on Wednesday despite the Federal Reserve announcing the continuation of its current easy policy, holding interest rates near zero, even while acknowledging that the US economy was accelerating.

Strong quarterly results from Apple and Facebook drove futures higher on Thursday, with Apple revealing that sales had jumped 54% during the quarter, with each product category seeing double-digit growth, while Facebook said revenues surged 48%, driven by higher-priced ads in the quarter.

Caterpillar shares were in the green after blowing past expectations, while Comcast also beat earnings expectations with its latest quarterly figures.

Still to come in what will be the busiest day of the quarterly earnings season, McDonald's and Merck will report before the market opens, while Amazon, Gilead Sciences, Twitter and Western Digital will publish their latest quarterly results after the close of trading.

Elsewhere in the corporate space, Carnival and Norwegian shares steamed ahead in pre-market after the Centers for Disease Control stated sailings from US ports could recommence in mid-July.

On the macro front, an advance reading of the US' first-quarter GDP will be released at 1330 BST, as will jobless claims data for the week ended 17 April, while pending home sales numbers for March will follow at 1500 BST.

Federal Reserve heads Randal Quarles and John Williams will deliver comments following the central bank's two-day policy meeting at 1500 BST and 1800 BST, respectively.

Thursday will also be Joe Biden's 100th day in the Oval Office, with the President making his first address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday where he pushed his $2.0trn infrastructure plan and his newly unveiled $1.8trn plan for families, children and students.