Investing.com - U.S. stock futures climb on Thursday as traders gauge a stream of corporate earnings and fresh U.S. economic data. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is set to report its quarterly results, with much of the focus on the e-commerce titan’s artificial intelligence spending plans following last week’s emergence of a low-cost AI model from Chinese start-up DeepSeek. Elsewhere, Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) unveils a tepid outlook for its patent licensing division and Ford’s (NYSE:F CEO warns of the implications of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff actions.
1. Futures move higher
U.S. stock futures pointed higher on Thursday, as investors assessed a raft of corporate earnings and economic data this week as well as the impact of renewed international trade tensions.
By 03:32 ET (08:32 GMT), the Dow futures contract had gained 66 points or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures had increased by 9 points or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had risen by 22 points or 0.1%.
The main averages on Wall Street all closed higher on Wednesday, with traders eyeing both disappointing results from Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and economic figures which analysts said could bolster the case for the Federal Reserve to roll out more interest rate cuts this year.
Sevices sector activity unexpectedly decelerated in January as an easing in demand helped to curb price gains, according to a report from the Institute for Supply Management. The prospect of a slowing economy and falling inflation boosted the possibility that the Fed may bring rates down from a range of 4.25% to 4.5% in the months ahead.
U.S. Treasury yields, which move inversely to prices, hovered near their lowest level in a month. More economic prints are due out this week, including the release of the all-important nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.
2. Amazon to report
E-commerce giant Amazon is due to headline a slew of quarterly returns on Thursday.
Like its Big Tech peers, the company is expected to face fresh questioning from analysts about its artificial intelligence spending plans following DeepSeek’s rise to prominence.
This week, Alphabet announced a capital spending outlook in 2025 that exceeded Wall Street estimates, partly sparking a downturn in the search giant’s stock price on Wednesday. Executives at Facebook-owner Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and software titan Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have also defended their own massive AI expenditures, arguing that they are necessary to keep up in the race to monetize the technology.
However, DeepSeek’s claim that it developed an AI model on par with that of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, albeit with less-advanced chips and at a fraction of the cost, has cast some doubt over the necessity of Silicon Valley’s AI spending binge.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s management may also be asked about Trump’s decision to close the so-called “de minimis” duty exemption for imported packages costing less than $800. In theory, the end of this loophole should bode well for Amazon because it may hit the firm’s cut-price Chinese rivals like Shein and PDD’s Temu.
3. Earnings deluge
Beyond Amazon, several other major companies are tipped to report on Thursday, including drugmaker Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), tobacco group Philip Morris (NYSE:PM), and conglomerate Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON).
After the close of markets on Wednesday, Qualcomm posted better-than-anticipated fiscal first-quarter results thanks to an AI-fueled rebound in smartphone demand, but the chipmaker flagged that its lucrative patent licensing unit will not see sales growth this year following the expiration of an agreement with Huawei Technologies. Shares in Qualcomm subsequently fell in extended hours trading.
Chip designer Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM), which collects royalties and licensing fees related to its technology, said it would no longer meet the top end of its prior full-year revenue guidance. Investors had projected that it would lift the target after the adoption of its chip designs on AI servers, Reuters reported, citing analysts.
Ford also warned it would post losses of $5.5 billion from its electric vehicle and software business this year, while its annual profit forecast trailed its 2024 income. Shares in the carmaker sank in after-hours dealmaking.
Chief Executive Jim Farley noted as well that President Trump’s now-postponed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico would have "a huge impact" on the automotive industry, adding that "billions of dollars of industry profits" would be wiped out by the levies.
4. BoE decision looms
The Bank of England holds its latest policy-setting meeting on Thursday, and is widely expected to cut interest rates and hint at more reductions to come as the UK economy stagnates.
Economists anticipate the BoE will cut its benchmark rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5% -- bringing it down to its lowest level since 2023. it will also update its economic growth and inflation forecasts.
Since the BoE published its last projections in November, the British economy has showed signs of stalling, while measures of inflation most closely monitored by rate-setters have cooled.
Analysts at Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Securities have agreed with consensus forecasts, projecting an 8-1 vote in favor of a reduction by the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee.
“The faster than expected drop in services inflation, weak growth and labor market loosening supports the case for a cut,” BOA analysts said, in a note dated January 31.
5. Oil moves higher
Oil prices edged higher Thursday, rebounding after the previous session’s slide, as a large build in U.S. crude stockpiles signaled weaker demand from the world’s largest consumer.
By 03:33 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) had gained 0.4% to $71.32 a barrel, while the Brent contract had risen 0.3% to $74.83 per barrel.
Oil prices fell more than 2% on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration released its weekly report, revealing U.S. commercial crude oil stocks rose by a substantial 8.7 million barrels last week, even more than the industry body American Petroleum Institute had indicated.
Prices have plunged about 10% from the 2025 highs touched shortly before President Trump returned to the White House for his second term in office, with investors eyeing a new round of Sino-American trade tariffs, including duties on energy products.