Stock Futures Surge as Apple, Amazon Restore Tech Sector Faith

Stock futures look ready to recoup yesterday's losses, with Big Tech earnings once more the catalyst. Top-line beats from Apple (AAPL) and Amazon.com (AMZN) -- with the former hiking its Q4 guidance and cloud computing revenue powering the latter -- have restored investor faith in the 'Magnificent Seven,' sending Nasdaq-100 (NDX) futures up over 350 points at last check.

Elsewhere, bond yields and gold prices are worth watching today, with the 10-year Treasury yield last seen ticking higher at 4.1% and the safe-haven asset holding above $4,000/oz.  

• Put traders blitz struggling Wolfspeed stock.
• Chipotle earnings impacted the whole fast-casual sector.
• Plus, three stocks moving higher after earnings. 

ov

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange saw 3.3 million call contracts and 1.9 million put contracts exchanged on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.57, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.58.
2. Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) stock is 0.7% higher before the open, after the energy giant reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that topped analyst expectations. Chevron stock has chopped around $155 since July, and is 6% higher in 2025.
3. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock is up 2.5% ahead of the bell, after a top-line beat for the fiscal fourth quarter. Although iPhone sales fell short of estimates, the company hiked its current-quarter guidance. Apple stock is up 8.3% heading into today and is poised to open at a record high. 
4. The shares of Reddit Inc (NYSE:RDDT) are 12.2% higher in electronic trading, after the social media company reported a top-line beat for the third quarter, with daily active users swelling by 19%. No fewer than eight brokerages have hiked their price targets in response, the highest coming from Truist to $270. Reddit stock may have shed 31% off its Sept. 18 record high of $282.81, but is still 19% higher year to date. 
5. Earnings season still in full swing next week.

Nikkei Hits More Highs

The Washington-Beijing trade deal helped push Japan’s Nikkei to a record high today, with the index settling 2.1% higher as investors cheering the rare earth progress. Chips and AI stocks saw a lift as well, on the heels of a partnership between Nvidia (NVDA) and South Korean government. Meanwhile, China’s manufacturing reading came in at 49, its lowest reading since May. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.4%, China’s Shanghai Composite shed 0.8%, and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5%.

Markets in Europe are struggling today, as investors unpack earnings and yesterday’s decision from the European Central Bank (ECB) to keep interest rates unchanged at 2%. The euro zone economy saw a growth of 0.2% for the third quarter, more than the anticipated 0.1%. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX are both 0.4% lower, while France’s CAC 40 sports a 0.3% deficit.