Dow Jones futures rose modestly early Friday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures as China said it's "evaluating" whether to hold trade talks with the U.S. Apple fell overnight on earnings, while Amazon.com erased losses. Duolingo and Reddit jumped.
The jobs report is on tap before the open.
The stock market rally ramped up Thursday morning as Microsoft and Meta Platforms jumped on earnings and lifted broader AI hardware plays. The major indexes faded into the close, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished above a key level.
China 'Evaluating' U.S. Trade Talks
China Commerce Ministry said in a statement overnight that it's "currently evaluating" whether to hold trade talks with the U.S. The statement noted that senior U.S. officials have repeatedly stated they want to negotiate with Beijing.
But the Commerce Ministry said the U.S. is responsible for initiating the trade war and thus should show its "sincerity" in talks.
The U.S. currently has 145% tariffs on most Chinese goods, though the Apple iPhone and most electronics currently only face 20% duties temporarily. China, for its part, has imposed 125% tariffs on U.S. goods, with a few exceptions, along with new restrictions on rare earth exports and more.
The upshot is that U.S.-China trade is crashing and is set to have a big impact on the world's two largest economies in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Japan aims to reach a U.S. trade deal by June, Tokyo's top trade negotiator said after a second round of talks Thursday. But the U.S. reportedly is reluctant to exempt Japan from the 10% baseline tariff, despite its very low average tariffs on American goods.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures rose 0.4% vs. fair value S&P 500 futures climbed 0.3%. Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.25%.
Futures turned higher Thursday night on news that China is opening the door to U.S. trade talks. But they've come off overnight highs.
Apple and Amazon, both Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq giants, were modest drags on futures.
Crude oil futures fell 1%.
The Labor Department will release the April jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect a rise of 130,000 jobs, down from 228,000 in March. The jobless rate should hold at 4.2%.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
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Apple, Amazon Earnings
Apple earnings slightly beat fiscal Q2 views, though high-margin services revenue missed. Management estimated that Trump tariffs will hike costs by $900 million in the current quarter. Apple upped its quarterly dividend by 4% and announced a new stock-buyback plan totaling up to $100 billion.
Apple stock fell modestly in overnight trade. Shares edged up 0.2% on Thursday, nearing the 50-day line.
Amazon earnings beat views, but gave weak operating profit guidance, citing "tariffs and trade policies." Also, Amazon Web Services revenue came in light, disappointing given Microsoft's strong Azure cloud-computing growth.
Amazon stock just edged lower in premarket action, coming off Thursday night's lows. Shares rose 3.1% on Thursday, buoyed by Microsoft and Meta. AMZN stock is nearing the 50-day line, with the 200-day line above that.
Other Earnings
DUOL stock jumped before the open, after Duolingo earnings and guidance beat. Shares are moving toward a 441.76 cup-base buy point.
RDDT stock rose solidly overnight, signaling a clear move above the 50-day line. Reddit earnings easily beat and the social media site guided up.
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally saw Microsoft and Meta lift AI plays Thursday, though the indexes waned into the close. Gains were muted outside the AI and tech areas.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% in Thursday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.5%. The small-cap Russell 2000 gained 0.6%.
Despite the late fade, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed above their 50-day moving averages for the first time since late February. The 200-day line is now the next big test.
Microsoft stock gapped up 7.6% and Meta Platforms popped 4.2%. AI data center plays, which sold off on Deepseek-related fears, continue to rebound. Nvidia gained 2.5%. GE Vernova, an AI-tied energy play, rallied 3.1%.
The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF — with less weight to Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Nvidia — fell 0.1% after hitting resistance just below the 50-day line.
Still, plenty of stocks outside of AI are showing strength. Those hail from a variety of sectors, including aerospace/defense, specialty steel, some financials as well as various biotechs and medical products firms.
Carpenter Technology, Howmet Aerospace and Stride are in buy areas.
U.S. crude oil prices rose 1.8% to $59.24 a barrel, reversing higher from four-year lows. President Donald Trump says any country that buys oil from Iran won't be allowed to do business with U.S.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose five basis points to 4.23%, reversing higher.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF lost 0.7%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF rose 1%, with Microsoft stock a huge component and Atlassian also a member. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF climbed 0.5%, with Nvidia stock the dominant holding.
The ARK Innovation ETF dipped 0.2%, and ARK Genomics fell 1.1%.
The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF edged up 0.2%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF advanced 0.4%, and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund slumped 2.8%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund gained 0.8%.
The Financial Select SPDR ETF lost a fraction.
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What To Do Now
The stock market rally keeps proving itself, moving past various resistance areas, though further hurdles remain.
Trump tariff news, earnings reports and economic data could spur renewed selling, though that hasn't been the case recently. Remember, it's the market reaction to the news that matters.
With the major indexes gaining ground and leading stocks acting well, investors can keep adding exposure. Be careful not to get too exposed to a particular sector or theme, or focusing exclusively on stocks with high average true ranges.
Carpenter stock is on IBD Leaderboard. Stride stock is on the IBD 50. Microsoft stock is in the IBD Long-Term Leaders list. Carpenter Technology was Thursday's IBD Stock Of The Day.
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