Microsoft, Meta Drag Down Nasdaq Futures – Europe Market Wrap

As investors processed Microsoft and Meta’s results and economic data that clouded the outlook for Federal Reserve interest-rate reduction, stocks continued to fall on the busiest day of the earnings season.

Nasdaq 100 contracts dropped more than 1% before paring the dip, with Microsoft and Meta both down as much as 4% in pre-market trade. Calculations showed that the decline in the two equities together accounted for around half of the losses in the Nasdaq futures. Today is when Apple and Amazon are expected to report.

Investors are doubting the corporations’ ability to maintain earnings growth as they increase their expenditures on cloud services and artificial intelligence.

As investors reduced their bets on Fed policy easing following strong economic-growth and jobs statistics on Wednesday, the dollar declined, but it is still on track to have its best month in almost two years.

The two-year Treasury yield, which is most susceptible to changes in interest rates, remained stable at a three-month high. Investors are concerned that a rebound in inflation following the US election could postpone or thwart interest-rate reductions, in addition to the US economy’s resilience.