Stock Futures Tick Lower After Trump-Xi Meeting, Powell Warning, Mixed Big Tech Results; Apple, Amazon Earnings on Tap

Stock futures pointed lower Thursday after President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met and investors digested a warning from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and several big tech earnings reports, with more set to be delivered after the bell. 

Futures associated with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, benchmark S&P 500, and tech-heavy Nasdaq were down a respective 0.3%, 0.1%, and 0.1%.

Yesterday, all three indexes set fresh intraday highs soon after markets opened, but only the Nasdaq finished higher after Powell said an additional interest-rate cut in December “is not a foregone conclusion—far from it” after the central bank trimmed its key rate by a quarter point.

After meeting with Xi in Busan, South Korea, earlier Thursday, Trump said the U.S. would lower tariffs on Chinese goods by 10% in exchange for China taking “very strong action” on chemicals used to produce fentanyl. China also agreed to ease restrictions on rare-earths exports and purchase “tremendous amounts” of U.S.-produced soybeans, Trump said.

After the bell yesterday, tech giants Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META), and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) reported quarterly results. Shares of Alphabet are jumping 7.5% in premarket trading after it surpassed $100 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, but those of Meta and Microsoft were down 8.5% and 2%, respectively.

Two additional Magnificent Seven members, Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN), will be reporting results after markets close today. Shares of Apple are up nearly 1% and those of Amazon are down 0.5% before the bell.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA), which Wednesday became the first company to be worth $5 trillion, were down 0.3% in premarket trading.

Elsewhere, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) shares sank 18% after it cut its same-store sales outlook as it said customers are making fewer visits, and Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) stock plummeted 24% issued a weak outlook following soft same-store sales.

Eli Lilly (LLY) stock surged 5% after the maker of popular weight-loss drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro lifted its full-year outlook following stronger-than-expected third-quarter results. Align Technology (ALGN) stock popped 15% after the company reported better-than-expected results, while shares of ServiceNow (NOW) advanced 3% after the enterprise software firm’s results topped estimates and its board authorized a 5-for-1 stock split. 

The 10-year Treasury yield was little changed at 4.08%, while the U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, was near flat at 99.24. Bitcoin was trading in a tight range around $110,000. Gold futures were near $4,000 an ounce, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were down 0.8% at around $60 a barrel.