U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed open on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average leading gains while technology shares showed divergent moves following a flurry of earnings reports. As of 4:58 a.m. EDT, Dow futures were up 0.20% at 53,226, while S&P 500 futures added 0.10% and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.13%. In contrast, small-cap Russell 2000 futures slipped 0.11%, reflecting cautious sentiment among smaller companies.
The premarket session was dominated by sharp reactions to quarterly results from two AI-related giants. Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW) surged 23.43% to $377.50 after the data-cloud company raised its fiscal 2027 product revenue forecast to $6.07 billion from $5.84 billion. The company reported second-quarter product revenue of $1.49 billion, up 37% year-over-year, signaling robust demand for its AI-driven data platform.
Conversely, Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) fell 2.30% to $358.80 despite posting record quarterly results. The semiconductor giant reported revenue of $29.59 billion, an 86% increase, and free cash flow of $13.67 billion. Chief Executive Hock Tan noted that demand for custom accelerators and networking products "continues to be very strong," yet the company's fourth-quarter revenue guidance of approximately $34.8 billion, while slightly above consensus, was not enough to satisfy investors who had priced in even faster growth.
The divergent reactions highlight a growing selectivity among investors, who are rewarding companies that deliver clear earnings beats and raised guidance, while penalizing those that merely meet expectations, even if results are strong. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE) also fell 3.26% to $50.14 despite reporting record quarterly revenue of $12.2 billion, up 34%, as investors focused on margin pressures and the cost of AI infrastructure investments.
In the commodity markets, West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.18% to $91.17 per barrel, after touching an earlier low of $89.66. Brent crude reached $95.77, up from a session low of $94.21. The rebound came amid ongoing geopolitical tensions involving Iran, which kept energy risk premium elevated despite earlier weakness in Asian trading.
Early sector ETF prints showed consumer discretionary and staples leading gains, with the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) up 0.43% and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) up 0.27%. Technology (XLK) added 0.16%, while utilities (XLU) slipped 0.12%. These moves, however, are based on sparse premarket trading and may not persist into the regular session.
Trading volume remained light in the early hours, with approximately 14,833 S&P 500 futures and 11,552 Nasdaq-100 futures changing hands by 4:59 a.m. EDT. Dow and Russell 2000 futures saw a combined 4,033 contracts traded. Thin liquidity can amplify price swings, making these early moves potentially unreliable indicators of the cash open.
Investors now look ahead to a busy macroeconomic calendar. At 8:30 a.m. EDT, the Labor Department will release weekly jobless claims, the trade balance, and revised productivity and labor cost data. The Institute for Supply Management's services index is due at 10:00 a.m. EDT, but the main event will be Friday's August employment report, which could influence Federal Reserve policy expectations and equity valuations.
Analysts caution that premarket liquidity conditions can exaggerate both stock and ETF movements. Additionally, oil price volatility could quickly shift inflation expectations, and a surprise in Thursday's economic data might reverse the modest futures gains before the opening bell.
