Stellar earnings announcements from some of tech’s biggest names Thursday evening have primed those stocks to soar in Friday’s trading session.
According to a report in Marketplace, “Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index jumped 31.50 points, or 0.7%, to 4,584.25, as shares of Amazon.com (AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) looked set to rally after earnings late Thursday.”
These three firms combined for an average increase of 10% in after-hours trading, according to the report.
—Google’s new parent company Alphabet reported a blockbuster third quarter late Thursday.
—Strong growth in cloud services and its Prime delivery business helped Amazon turn in a surprise profit for the latest quarter.
—Microsoft also reported a strong quarter.
Microsoft has a particularly good night Thursday, after strong demand for its cloud services helped boost the Washington State-based company’s shares surge to a fifteen-year high.
Also helping markets: News Friday that China’s central bank cut interest rates for the sixth time since November in another attempt to jumpstart a slowing economy.
On Thursday, stocks rallied strongly following hints from European Central Bank head Mario Draghi that he may expand the central bank’s stimulus program this year.
—Reuters contributed to this report.
