Tech Stocks Retreat Pre-Market as Traders Await Amazon Results, Key Inflation Data

Tech Sector Leads Pre-Market Decline

US equity futures moved lower Thursday morning as investors awaited Amazon's financial results and the September reading of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. The S&P 500 futures dropped 0.3% and the Nasdaq 100 slipped 1.1% in premarket trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%, according to Yahoo Finance. The move comes after Wall Street finished Wednesday's session on a positive note, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both logging a third straight day of gains.

Big Tech Earnings Under Scrutiny

Amazon (AMZN) is set to release its latest quarterly results after the market closes Thursday. FactSet consensus projects earnings per share of $1.97 and revenue of $202.22 billion for the September quarter, according to Yahoo Finance. Microsoft (MSFT) shares advanced 3% before the bell after the firm reported stronger-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results. Alphabet’s (GOOG, GOOGL) class A and C shares fell sharply, losing 9.8% and 10% respectively, as the company posted an unexpected year-over-year decline in third-quarter earnings.

Several major companies disclosed results before the opening bell, including Eli Lilly (LLY), Mastercard (MA), Merck (MRK), Caterpillar (CAT), Anheuser-Busch Inbev (BUD), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), L3Harris Technologies (LHX), D.R. Horton (DHI), Restaurant Brands International (QSR) and Hershey (HSY). After the close, investors are set to hear from Intel (INTC), Sandisk (SNDK), Starbucks (SBUX), Stryker (SYK), Roblox (RBLX), and Reddit (RDDT).

Inflation Report and Fed Policy Awaited

The September personal income and outlays report, including the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index—the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metric—is due Thursday at 8:30 am ET. Bloomberg consensus estimates expect PCE to have increased 0.5% from the previous month and 3.6% year-over-year, according to Yahoo Finance. The same report provides fresh data on consumer spending.

The Federal Reserve opted to keep its policy rate unchanged on Wednesday in a divided vote, choosing to await new inflation data before considering any adjustments. As reported by Yahoo Finance, Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented, supporting a 25-basis-point rate hike. Chair Kevin Warsh also announced that the central bank will reduce its number of annual rate-setting meetings to allow for more in-depth strategy discussions. Treasury yields responded early Thursday, with the two-year yield down 5.4 basis points to 4.68% and the 10-year yield down 5 basis points to near 5%.

Broader Market and Geopolitical Developments

Commodities moved lower, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil falling 1.3% to $101.42 per barrel, and Brent crude down 1% at $114.19. Spot gold slipped 0.2% to $4,042 per troy ounce, while bitcoin declined 1.6% to $80,006.

Geopolitical tensions remained in focus. According to The Wall Street Journal, Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Iran's supreme national security council, Mohsen Rezaei, at the direction of President Donald Trump to resume peace negotiations. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Qatar offered Iran a new proposal to end the Middle East war, which an Iranian official rejected as unacceptable.

On the US economic calendar, investors are also watching the advance estimate for third-quarter gross domestic product and the weekly jobless claims report due Thursday.