Tonight Highlights | Nasdaq 100 Futures Pop 1% as Microsoft Surge Drives Tech Rally; PCE In Line, GDP Moderates

U.S. stock index futures pushed higher on Thursday, with Nasdaq 100 futures surging over 1% following a sharp post-earnings rally in Microsoft and a broad rebound across semiconductor equities.

European benchmarks tracked the optimism, trading solidly in the green.

Macro economic data released ahead of the opening bell painted a balanced picture of inflation and growth:

PCE Price Index: June PCE rose 3.7% year-over-year, matching market consensus and the prior reading. On a monthly basis, the headline index slipped 0.1%, in line with expectations.

Core PCE: The core PCE index—which strips out volatile food and energy components—rose 3.3% year-over-year (vs. 3.3% expected, down from 3.4% previously), while expanding 0.1% month-over-month (vs. 0.2% expected).

Q2 GDP: U.S. Q2 GDP expanded at an annualized rate of 1.5%, trailing analyst estimates of 2.1% and stepping down from the prior quarter's 2.1% pace.

The pre-market bounce comes on the heels of a sharp sell-off on Wednesday, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted over 1,100 points to log its worst single-day decline since April 2025.

"The Federal Reserve remains patient and firmly in wait-and-see mode as it assesses economic trajectory over the coming months," said Sameer Samana, Head of Global Equities & Real Assets at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. "That leaves the September meeting very much on the table. If incoming data continues to cooperate, policymakers could move at that meeting to address persistent inflationary pressures."

In single-stock movers, Microsoft jumped nearly 10% in pre-market action following strong top-line momentum in its Azure cloud division. The rally ignited buyers across the chip landscape, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up over 5% pre-market.

Conversely, Meta plunged 10% after issuing soft forward revenue guidance and reporting a 91% year-over-year drop in Q2 free cash flow.

"At the end of the day, this is a tale of two contrasting AI playbooks," noted Stephen Evans, Chief Investment Officer at Pave Finance. "One player is expanding capital outlays while growing bottom-line margins, while the other is allowing those infrastructure costs to cannibalize cash flows."

Tech focus now shifts post-market, with Amazon and Apple slated to report Q2 earnings and offer critical updates on AI monetization and enterprise adoption.

Pre-Market Earnings Summary

Shell Reports Q2 Adjusted Earnings of $9.84 Billion

Shell disclosed Q2 2026 revenue of $94.66 billion (vs. $83.61B consensus) and adjusted earnings of $9.84 billion ($1.76 per share), topping Wall Street estimates of $8.68 billion ($1.55 EPS).

Shell expects Q3 adjusted earnings net charges of $500M–$700M and reaffirmed full-year cash CapEx guidance of $24B–$26B.

Adidas Q2 Operating Profit Misses Consensus Estimates

Adidas posted Q2 sales of €6.70 billion—a 14% constant-currency increase—beating the €6.58 billion estimate. However, operating profit rose just 5% to €574 million, trailing analyst expectations of €615.6 million.

BMW H1 Revenue Down 8%; Issues Downbeat Full-Year Pre-Tax Outlook

BMW Group reported H1 2026 revenue of €62.27 billion (-8% YoY) and Q2 revenue of €31.26 billion (-7.9% YoY), citing fierce pricing competition and lower delivery volumes (-4.2% YoY to 1.16 million units).

Q2 pre-tax profit (EBT) plunged 35.1% to €1.70 billion. Management anticipates slightly lower full-year automotive deliveries and a sharp decline in full-year group EBT.

Stellantis Swings Back to Profit in Q2 with €300 Million Net Earnings

Stellantis reported Q2 2026 net revenues of €43.5 billion (+13% YoY), powered by a 32% surge in North America. Net profit reached €300 million, turning around year-ago losses thanks to volume expansion and operational improvements.

LG Energy Solution H1 Revenue Up 10.5% to 14.1 Trillion Won

LG Energy Solution generated Q2 consolidated revenue of 7.6 trillion won (+15.3% QoQ) and operating profit of 113.3 billion won (1.5% margin).

H1 revenue rose 10.5% YoY to 14.1 trillion won, led by a 4.6x jump in Energy Storage Systems (ESS) revenue, which accounted for over 20% of total top-line sales.

Sanofi Q2 Sales Surge 16% to €11.6 Billion

Sanofi reported Q2 sales of €11.60 billion (+16% YoY, or +17.8% CER) and business EPS of €2.09 (+31.4% YoY). Sales in Greater China reached €676 million for the quarter.

Samsung Electronics Q2 Operating Profit Surges 1,814% YoY

Samsung Electronics delivered Q2 sales of 171.50 trillion won (+130% YoY) and operating profit of 89.49 trillion won (+1,814% YoY). Net profit topped expectations at 71.27 trillion won. Samsung projects Q3 HBM4 sales to more than double QoQ, accounting for over 60% of total HBM revenue in H2.

Management expects DRAM supply tightness to intensify in 2027 amid cloud infrastructure spend, confirming closed supply contracts with five global data center operators and ongoing late-stage negotiations with five major AI customers.

Corporate News

EU to Target ChatGPT and Roblox Under Strict VLOP Digital Rules

OpenAI's ChatGPT and gaming platform Roblox will face heightened scrutiny under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) after crossing the 45 million monthly active user threshold.

European regulators are expected to designate both entities as "Very Large Online Platforms" (VLOP) as early as August, triggering strict content moderation and algorithmic risk audit requirements.

Toyota Partners with Volvo and Daimler Truck in Cellcentric Fuel-Cell JV

Toyota Motor Corporation has signed a binding agreement to join Volvo Group and Daimler Truck as an equal one-third shareholder in cellcentric.

Pending regulatory approval, the deal is slated to close in late 2026 or early 2027. Cellcentric develops, manufactures, and commercializes heavy-duty commercial fuel-cell systems.