New York, January 29, 2026, 06:06 (EST) — Premarket
U.S. stock index futures edged higher in premarket trading on Thursday as investors sifted fresh results from Meta Platforms and Tesla and a sharp drop in Microsoft ahead of Apple earnings later in the day. At 5:21 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-mini futures — contracts tied to the benchmark index — were up 13.5 points, or 0.19%, while Nasdaq 100 E-minis rose 67.5 points, or 0.26%, and Dow E-minis added 42 points, or 0.09%. Meta rose 7.9% and Tesla gained 2.9%, while Microsoft slid 6.4%; rare-earth miners fell after a report the Trump administration would step back from critical mineral price supports and investors also kept an eye on a U.S. government funding deadline on Friday. 1
Wall Street is coming off a session in which the S&P 500 briefly broke above 7,000 for the first time, a milestone that underscored how heavily the rally has leaned on the artificial intelligence theme and on expectations that borrowing costs will fall again. Technology stocks now make up nearly half of the benchmark, leaving the index sensitive to a handful of results. “You could definitely have a continuation on the rally in equities if the earnings season shows that AI expenditure is bringing in revenues,” said Jeff Leschen, managing director at Bramshill Investments. 2
Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet and Amazon are expected to lift AI spending by about 30% to more than $500 billion this year, sharpening scrutiny of what those outlays deliver and how quickly. “Alphabet has the upper hand in the AI race,” said David Wagner, head of equities at Aptus Capital Advisors, pointing to hard-to-crack “proprietary ecosystems.” Alphabet and Amazon report next week, after Microsoft and Meta posted numbers on Wednesday. 3
The Dow ended Wednesday up 0.02% at 49,015.60, the S&P 500 slipped 0.01% to 6,978.03 and the Nasdaq gained 0.17% to 23,857.45, after the Fed held rates unchanged and offered little guidance on when cuts might resume. Chip stocks buoyed the Nasdaq, with Intel surging 11%, Micron up 6% and Nvidia adding 1.6%, while Texas Instruments and Seagate rallied after upbeat forecasts. “Whether you were bullish or bearish … you walked away feeling about the same,” said Michael James, an equity sales trader at Rosenblatt Securities. 4
The Fed kept its benchmark rate in the 3.5%-3.75% range and said the extent and timing of further adjustments would depend on incoming data and the outlook, even as it described inflation as “somewhat elevated” and the job market as stabilizing. Michael Pearce, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote that the central bank looked set for an “extended pause,” and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note ticked up to around 4.25% as rate futures pointed to June for the next cut. 5
Meta told analysts it now expects 2026 capital expenditure, or capex, of $115 billion to $135 billion as it chases what CEO Mark Zuckerberg called “personal superintelligence,” and the stock jumped about 10% in extended trading. Gabelli Funds portfolio manager John Belton said Meta’s valuation “is really not that demanding,” adding that returns are still being driven by the core ad business. Microsoft also reported a 66% rise in capital outlay in the December quarter, but its shares fell after investors fixated on its cloud revenue. 6
Apple is due to report quarterly results after the close on Thursday, with analysts expecting iPhone revenue to rise about 13.6% and total revenue to hit a record $138.43 billion as demand for premium Pro models held up. Investors will also parse details of Apple’s plan to use Alphabet’s Google Gemini technology for a revamped Siri, and comments on a global memory-chip crunch that could raise costs. “Apple can probably generate a positive return on very little AI investment,” said Gerrit Smit, who manages Stonehage Fleming’s Global Best Ideas Equity fund. 7
The market’s calm tone after the Fed leaves little cushion if the next batch of earnings shows spending outrunning payoffs, particularly for the mega-caps that dominate index weights. A hot data print or higher Treasury yields could also hit richly valued growth stocks that have powered the run to records.
Traders will get a heavy morning slate at 8:30 a.m. ET with weekly jobless claims and delayed reports on durable goods and trade, followed later by a $44 billion auction of seven-year notes. Earnings remain the main event, with Apple joined on Thursday by reports from Visa, Mastercard, Caterpillar and others. 8
