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.
