US Stock Market Outlook: Geopolitical Tensions, Oil Rises, Strong Gold Demand, Mixed Earnings Reports.

US Stock Futures Rise Ahead of Market Open

As of Thursday morning, US stock futures are showing positive movement. The Dow Jones futures are up by 0.03%, Nasdaq futures by 0.06%, and S&P 500 futures by 0.14%.

Notable Movements in Tech Stocks

• Meta Platforms (META): Surged over 9% post-earnings.
• ASML (ASML): Increased by 4%.
• Tesla (TSLA): Gained over 2%.
• Alphabet (GOOGL): Rose nearly 2%.
• Microsoft (MSFT): Dropped over 7% after earnings.

Chinese Stocks Performance

Several Chinese stocks are also seeing gains:

• TAL Education (TAL): Up nearly 9%.
• Beike (BEKE): Increased by nearly 7%.
• Alibaba (BABA) and Baidu (BIDU): Both up nearly 1%.
• TSMC (TSM) and Trip.com (TCOM): Down nearly 1%.
• UMC (UMC): Dropped nearly 11% post-earnings.

Gold and Storage Stocks

Gold stocks are mostly up:

• Namib Minerals (NAMM): Increased over 11%.
• Pan American Silver (PAAS) and Coeur Mining (CDE): Both up over 2%.
• Harmony Gold (HMY): Down over 2%.

Storage stocks are also performing well:

• Western Digital (WDC): Up over 2%.
• SanDisk (SNDK): Nearly 2% increase.
• Seagate Technology (STX): Up over 1%.
• Micron Technology (MU): Nearly 1% increase.

Tesla's Capital Expenditure Plans

Tesla announced a capital expenditure of $8.53 billion for 2025, with expectations to exceed $20 billion in 2026. The company confirmed $430 million in revenue from xAI's procurement of large-scale commercial energy storage batteries.

Earnings Reports Overview

• Meta Platforms: Q4 revenue rose 24% to $59.893 billion, exceeding expectations.
• Microsoft: Q2 revenue grew 17% to $81.3 billion, but cloud growth slowed.
• IBM: Q4 revenue exceeded expectations, driven by strong software growth.
• Lam Research (LRCX): Revenue up 22%, with strong Q3 guidance.

Market Outlook

The geopolitical landscape and supply disruptions are influencing oil prices, with Brent crude futures surpassing $70 per barrel.

Investment Trends

OpenAI's pre-funding valuation may reach $730 billion, attracting investments from Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Conclusion

The market is reacting positively to earnings reports and geopolitical developments, with significant movements in both tech and commodity sectors. Investors are advised to stay informed on these trends as they unfold.