Pre-Market Brief | Thursday, April 30, 2026
Where Futures Sit
Mixed tape after a deluge of mega-cap tech results overnight. Nasdaq 100 futures are inching up, lifted by Alphabet and Amazon. Dow and S&P futures are softer as Microsoft and Meta drag on sentiment. The Dow closed Wednesday down 280.12 points to 48,861.81, its fifth straight losing session. The S&P 500 finished essentially flat at 7,135.95. The Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.04 percent to 24,673.24. Tech is on track for its best month since April 2020, with the Nasdaq up roughly 14 percent in April.
Macro Pulse
The Fed held rates steady yesterday in a split decision and Powell's last press conference as chair. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped to 4.41 percent after the announcement. Trump rejected Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ordered an extended naval blockade. Brent crude surged 8 percent to roughly $120 per barrel. The data calendar is heavy today: advance Q1 GDP, weekly jobless claims, PCE inflation, personal income and spending, the Employment Cost Index, and Chicago PMI all hit before noon ET.
Tickers To Watch
GOOGL: Up more than 7 percent premarket. Beat on top and bottom line.
AMZN: Higher after the print. Cloud and retail commentary held up.
MSFT: Down premarket near $416. Q3 EPS and revenue beat, but Azure growth fell short of elevated expectations. CapEx guide lifted to roughly $190 billion for fiscal 2026.
META: Down more than 8 percent premarket. Beat with $10.44 EPS on $56.3 billion in revenue, but raised 2026 capex guide to $125 to $145 billion. Q2 revenue guide of $58 to $61 billion was roughly in line.
AAPL: Reports after the close. Street expects roughly $109.5 billion in revenue and $1.95 EPS. Watch the Q3 guide and any Ternus transition commentary.
LLY, MRK, AMGN, BMY: Major pharma prints before the bell. Read on GLP-1 demand and pipeline progress.
CAT: Industrial bellwether reports today. Construction equipment volumes are the tell on global capex.
MA: Mastercard reports. Cross-border spending trends and consumer pulse in focus.
XLE, XOM, CVX: Energy bid as Brent prints $120. The blockade is now policy, not posture.
Bottom Line
Big tech delivered the earnings. AI capex commitments are now running at $190 billion, $145 billion, and rising, while the payoff timeline keeps stretching. Add Brent at $120 and a Fed that is anchored on hold, and the setup gets harder, not easier. The Apple call tonight matters more than the headline number. Listen for the Q3 guide.
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