U.S. Futures Rise as Amazon, Apple Shares Surge Before Market Open

By Scott Kanowsky

Investing.com -- U.S. stock markets are set to open higher Friday, set to end the week on a positive note on the back of strong earnings from tech giants Amazon and Apple.

By 6:46 AM ET (1046 GMT), Dow Jones futures were up 109 points or 0.34%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.77%, and Nasdaq 100 futures increased by 1.17%.

The main indices are on course for a second positive week in a row, with generally strong corporate earnings holding sway even after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by a further 75 basis points and GDP contracted for the second quarter in a row.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average is 2% higher so far this week, while the broad-based S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite have both gained 2.8%.

Highlighting the session today will be earnings from the Big Tech sector, with both Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) surpassing expectations with their quarterly results released after the close on Thursday.

Shares in Amazon zoomed higher by more than 12% in premarket trade, thanks to a revised outlook from the company that offset slower net sales growth compared to the same period last year. Amazon now expects a jump in third quarter revenue, citing bigger fees from Prime loyalty subscriptions and resilient consumer demand.

Apple also forecasted strong demand for its flagship iPhone product despite consumers tightening other spending as economic growth slows. The firm also declined to give specific revenue guidance due to economic uncertainty but said annual sales should rise faster in the current quarter than the 2% growth it posted in the just-ended last three months.

Shares in Apple edged into the green by 2.28% in premarket trading.

A fresh batch of European data also helped ease some risk sentiment. The 19-nation Eurozone grew surprisingly strongly in the second quarter, defying expectations of a slowdown and the previous day’s weak U.S. release. Healthy performances in Spain, France, and Italy helped offset stalling growth in Europe's biggest economy, Germany.

However, inflation - which has weighed heavily on business and consumer activity in the region - came in at a new record high of 8.9% compared to the prior year, up from 8.6% in June. Analysts had been anticipating the number to stay at that prior level.

Concerns still remain that the Eurozone will tip into a recession either late this year or early next year despite the strong second quarter.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices moved up on Friday, helped by supply concerns ahead of next week’s meeting of a group of top producers even amid fears of a global recession.

By 7:08 AM EST (1108 GMT), U.S. crude futures were up 2.33% at $98.67 a barrel, while Brent crude was up 2.21% at $104.08 a barrel.

Additionally, gold futures popped slightly to $1,759.40/oz, while the EUR/USD was trading at $1.0225.