US pre-open: Futures mixed as big‑tech earnings split, macro data looms

29th Oct 2026 10:38

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were pointing to a mixed open ahead of the bell on Thursday as investors worked through another volatile round of hyperscaler earnings and digested the Federal Reserve's decision to keep its benchmark overnight interest rate unchange.

As of 1215 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.36%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.37% and 1.26% softer, respectively.

The Dow closed 97.53 points higher on Wednesday, extending modest gains recorded in the previous session.

Alphabet dropped 9% in pre-market action after missing third‑quarter expectations on both earnings and revenue and reporting $9.07bn of negative free cash flow, while keeping full‑year capex guidance unchanged at $195bn to $205bn.

Microsoft, on the other hand, rose 3% in pre-market trade after posting stronger‑than‑expected first‑quarter results, driven by 48% growth in its Azure cloud infrastructure business. However, neocloud names weakened as Microsoft's lower‑than‑forecast capex figure suggested data centre partners were taking longer to deliver new capacity.

In terms of Thursday's earnings news, Eli Lilly delivered another strong quarter, with third quarter earnings and revenues comfortably topping forecasts as demand for its GLP‑1 drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro remained exceptionally strong. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $7.48 against $6.26 expected, while revenues jumped to $24.40bn, well ahead of the $22.61bn consensus. Eli Lilly also lifted its FY26 sales outlook from $85bn-$87bn to $91bn-$92b.

Caterpillar reported better‑than‑expected third‑quarter income, buoyed by strong demand for construction equipment tied to the build‑out of AI infrastructure, although its shares slid more than 10% in pre‑market trade as investors reassessed the sustainability of debt‑fuelled data‑centre spending, while Mastercard posted a solid set of numbers, with third‑quarter net revenues rising 14% to $9.8bn, operating income up 16% to $5.9bn, and diluted EPS jumping 22% to $5.28. Bristol Myers Squibb also nudged guidance higher after stronger third‑quarter revenue, though net income held broadly flat year‑on‑year at $2.2bn, or $1.05 per share.

Still to come, Amazon, Intel, Sandisk and Starbucks were slated to report earnings after the close.

On the macro front, weekly jobless claims data from the Labor Department will be out at 1230 GMT, as will a preliminary readings of September's personal consumption expenditure and gross domestic product reports, while the Kansas Fed's October manufacturing activity data will be follow at 1500 GMT.

The broader market was also still coming to terms with Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision, with policymakers holding rates at 3.75% to 4% following September's quarter‑point hike. The move was widely anticipated, but the Fed noted that inflation "remains elevated" and signalled it would wait for "the accumulation of more information" before considering further action.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com