U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Friday, signaling a potential recovery for Wall Street after Thursday’s declines, with upbeat earnings from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) boosting investor confidence in the tech sector.

Market optimism grew early in the day after both companies delivered results that exceeded analyst expectations, suggesting resilience in consumer and cloud spending despite macroeconomic uncertainty.

Amazon shares jumped 13% in premarket trading after the e-commerce and cloud leader reported third-quarter earnings that surpassed forecasts, driven by a surge in Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenue. The performance marked a notable turnaround for its cloud business, which had shown signs of slowing earlier this year.

Apple stock also traded sharply higher before the bell following strong fiscal fourth-quarter results and an upbeat revenue outlook for the holiday quarter, fueled by demand for the iPhone 17 and continued growth in its services division.

In addition, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) may attract buyers after announcing its board approved a 10-for-1 stock split, a move designed to increase liquidity and broaden retail participation.

On the downside, Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) shares could face pressure as the energy giant posted lower third-quarter profits year over year, reflecting the impact of weaker oil prices and softer refining margins.

Thursday Recap: Tech Drag Pulls Markets Lower

U.S. equities ended mostly in the red on Thursday after a volatile session. The Nasdaq Composite led losses, tumbling 1.6% (−377.33 points) to 23,581.14, while the S&P 500 fell 1% to 6,822.34. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2% to 47,522.12.

The selloff followed mixed earnings from major tech firms, with Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) plunging 11.3% after warning that AI investment costs will rise despite stronger-than-expected earnings. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) also dropped 2.9%, even after beating estimates, as it projected faster capital expenditure growth for the year ahead.

Meanwhile, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) provided some relief, climbing 2.5% after delivering better-than-expected quarterly results, and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) surged 3.8% after a strong beat and raised full-year guidance.

Trade Developments Fail to Lift Sentiment

Traders largely shrugged off encouraging trade signals from President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, where the U.S. agreed to cut fentanyl-linked tariffs from 20% to 10%, and China committed to resume soybean purchases and pause new rare-earth export restrictions.

Despite the positive headlines, sentiment was weighed down by sector weakness. Software stocks sank alongside Microsoft, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index down 2.2%. Telecom stocks also retreated, with the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index dropping 2%.

Elsewhere, steel, hardware, retail, and semiconductor stocks struggled, while gold, networking, and pharmaceutical sectors managed modest gains.

Heading into Friday’s session, investors are cautiously optimistic that Amazon and Apple’s upbeat results could help reignite market momentum and reverse the prior session’s losses.

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