Dow Jones Futures Rise As Meta Jumps, Microsoft Slumps; Elon Musk Plans Tesla CapEx Surge

Dow Jones futures rose slightly early Thursday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures.

Tesla (TSLA), Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META) headlined a huge night of earnings. Elon Musk touted robotaxis, but also massive capital spending growth. Microsoft and Meta capex guidance is huge for the entire AI ecosystem, including Nvidia (NVDA).

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The stock market rally gave up initial gains Wednesday, with the Nasdaq hitting resistance just below all-time highs, heading into those huge earnings reports. The Federal Reserve holding rates steady and Fed chief Jerome Powell signaling a longer rate pause didn’t have much impact.

A number of leaders made big gains during the session on earnings, but there were some losers.

Nvidia stock is on Leaderboard. Microsoft stock is on the IBD Long-Term Leaders list.

The video embedded in the article reviews Wednesday’s market action and analyzes Nvidia stock, GE Vernova (GEV) and LivaNova (LIVN).

Dow Jones Futures Today

Dow Jones futures were 0.1% above fair value, with Microsoft weighing on blue chips but IBM helping. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.2%. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1%.

Crude oil futures jumped nearly 3%.

Gold and silver futures were up solidly.

Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.

Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks and the market on IBD Live

Tesla Earnings

Tesla earnings and sales fell in Q4, but less than expected. The booming Tesla Energy business remains a positive. A jump in regulatory credit revenue and perhaps recognition of significant FSD revenue also helped.

The company disclosed plans to invest $2 billion into Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI.

Elon Musk said Austin robotaxis without safety monitors also no longer have chase cars, suggesting that they are truly unsupervised. Musk said he expects robotaxis to be in “dozens of cities” this year, perhaps 25% to 50% of the population. Last summer, he predicted robotaxis would reach half the population by the end of 2025.

Tesla will wind down the Model S and X, replacing their Fremont production line for the upcoming Optimus.

Tesla’s CFO said capital spending will top $20 billion in 2026 vs. $8.53 billion last year, with a potential chip plant above and beyond that. Q4 capital expenditures were significantly below expectations.

The CFO added that that the Energy business will see tighter margins.

Tesla Stock

Tesla stock rose modestly early Thursday to 439, back toward its 50-day line. A move above Friday’s high of 452.43 would offer an early entry in an emerging base.

Meta, Microsoft Earnings

Meta earnings topped Q4 views while the social media giant guided higher on Q1 revenue. The company also guided up on capital expenditures.

Meta stock jumped in extended action, signaling a gap above the 200-day line.

Microsoft earnings beat fiscal Q2 views, though the Azure cloud-computing business was roughly in line. The Dow tech titan guided current Q3 revenue roughly in line, though operating margin targets were a little light.

Q2 capex was higher than expected, but Microsoft said it will fall sequentially in Q3.

Microsoft stock fell sharply overnight after closing Wednesday just short of its 200-day resistance.

Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) rose modestly in premarket trade. Amazon.com (AMZN) edged lower.

Nvidia stock lost a fraction in extended action after rising slightly Wednesday. The stock sits above some early entries.

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Other Earnings

Lam Research (LRCX), Celestica (CLS), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Viavi Solutions (VIAV), IBM (IBM) and ServiceNow (NOW) also reported late Wednesday, along with Lending Club (LC) and United Rentals (URI).

SAP (SAP) and Caterpillar (CAT) reported early Thursday.

Lam Research, Viavi and IBM were solid or strong earnings winners, with the latter jumping above key levels. Caterpillar rose slightly.

LendingClub, Las Vegas Sands, United Rentals, ServiceNow and Celestica declined solidly, while SAP dived. Celestica looks set to undercut an early buy point.

Why This IBD Tool Simplifies The Search For Top Stocks

Stock Market Rally

The stock market rally started strong with the S&P 500 hitting a new high and the Nasdaq almost doing so, but the indexes quickly erased gains. Stocks didn’t move much on the Fed statement or Powell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a fraction in Wednesday’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index finished lower by less than one point. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.2%. The small-cap Russell 2000 fell 0.5%.

With the market at highs and bullish sentiment starting to get excessive, some caution ahead of Meta, Microsoft and Tesla earnings probably was warranted.

Seagate Technology (STX) and Nextpower (NXT) were among big earnings winners. Am****phenol (APH) was a notable loser, though shares closed well off lows.

Drug and biotech plays generally had a poor session.

U.S. crude oil prices rose 1.3% to $63.21 a barrel, a four-month closing high.

The 10-year Treasury yield rose three basis points to 4.25%.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch

What To Do Now

The stock market is right at highs, with many leaders acting well. The market reaction to Wednesday night’s huge earnings will be key.

Of course, Apple (AAPL) headlines a slew of Thursday results, with Google and Amazon next week.

Still, if the market exits next week with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in record territory, that could be the start of another leg in the rally.

Right now, investors should be working on watchlists but also have exit strategies ready.

Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.

Please follow Ed Carson on  Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson  for stock market updates and more.

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