The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were poised for a higher open on Thursday following a selloff in the previous session, buoyed by Tesla's optimistic earnings forecast, which kicked off megacap results on a positive note.
Shares of the company soared nearly 14.3% in premarket trading, with the EV-maker set to add more than $95 billion to its market capitalization, after it reported robust third-quarter profits and surprised investors with a prediction of 20% to 30% sales growth next year.
"Tesla bounced back from the underwhelming launch of its Robotaxi with a strong set of third-quarter earnings. These numbers represent a return to form after an underpowered second quarter, when profitability dropped sharply," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Tesla was the first of the so-called Magnificent Seven group of stocks to report, with results from several other megacaps due next week.
The optimism spread to the other six, with Nvidia rising 1.5%, Amazon.com up 0.7% and Meta Platforms gaining 0.8% after steep declines in the previous session.
Dow E-minis were down 43 points, or 0.1%, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 30.25 points, or 0.52%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 201.75 points, or 1%.
Wall Street saw a selloff on Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 notching its third straight decline and the Nasdaq seeing its worst day since early September.
Stocks have eased from record levels over the past few sessions due to a reassessment of bets on the Federal Reserve's rate cuts, rising Treasury yields, corporate earnings and uncertainty surrounding the upcoming U.S. election.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds eased slightly on the day, but was still trading around its highest since late July. It touched 4.26% on Wednesday.
"We're coming into the day after having sold off a bit every day this week. With yields taking a breather and Tesla's positive results and guidance, markets may well be able to find some tailwinds after having been down this week," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.
Shares of Boeing dropped 2.2% after factory workers voted on Wednesday to reject a contract offer and continue a more than five-week strike that has seen the company's losses soar.
Meanwhile, investor focus returned to earnings season, with UPS adding 8.5% after the parcel service provider reported a rise in third-quarter profit on rebounding volumes and cost cuts. Rival FedEx was up 2.6%.
Southwest Airlines dipped 0.8% after reporting a surprise profit in the third quarter, while Honeywell International was off 2.4% after quarterly results.
IBM lost 3.5% after missing estimates for third-quarter revenue, while gold producer Newmont dropped 4.5%, as higher costs and weaker Nevada output saw it miss profit estimates.
Around 32% of S&P 500 companies have reported results so far this quarter, according to data compiled by LSEG, with 79% beating earnings estimates.
On the economic front, weekly jobless claims fell to 227,000 for the week ending Oct. 19, versus the 242,000 forecast by economists polled by Reuters.
S&P Global flash PMIs and new home sales for September are due on the day. - Reuters
