Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Apple: What to Watch When the Stock | Sidnaz Blog

• U.S. stock futures rose on the prospect of as much as $1.8 trillion in new government spending that could spur economic growth.
• Futures tied to the S&P 500 added 0.7%, suggesting that the broad-market index may resume its march toward a fresh record after the opening bell. Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 1%, suggesting that major technology stocks will drive gains. Read our full market wrap.

What’s Coming Up

• Earnings are due from

  Kraft Heinz

  
  KHC 0.05%
  

  and

  Caterpillar

  
  CAT 0.85%
  

  before the open and from

  Amazon

  
  AMZN 1.20%
  

  and

  Gilead Sciences

  
  GILD -0.36%
  

  after the close.

• Advance GDP estimates this morning will show just how strong the economic recovery in the first quarter has been: Forecast is for 6.5% expansion versus the final quarter last year. There will also be fresh weekly jobless claims numbers, which are expected to be lower than the previous week. 

Market Movers to Watch

• Facebook

  
  FB 1.16%
  

  is up more than 7% ahead of the open after the social media company followed Google-parent Alphabet in reporting late Wednesday a first-quarter surge in advertising spending. Profit nearly doubled and overall revenue also beat forecasts.

• The knock-out numbers from these two is also lifting

  Twitter,

  
  TWTR -0.47%
  

  up 3.5% premarket. Good advertising revenue would boost the company’s aim to double annual sales by 2023. Its latest earnings are due after the close.

• Chipmaker

  Qualcomm

  
  QCOM -1.04%
  

  is also an early riser, up more than 5%, again on forecast beating earnings after the market closed Wednesday.

• One technology name not doing so well is

  eBay,

  
  EBAY 1.00%
  

  down more than 5% premarket. The auction site beat forecasts with first quarter results late Wednesday, but its guidance on current trading disappointed investors.

• Apple

  
  AAPL -0.60%
  

  shares added 2.7% premarket. Demand for new, higher-priced 5G iPhones helped fuel a more-than doubling of quarterly profit to $23.6 billion, off $89.6 billion in revenue. Apple stock has been among the weakest performers among large-cap tech companies this year, gaining less than 1%, versus a 9% rise by the Nasdaq Composite.

• Tesla

  
  TSLA -1.47%
  

  is up a touch, gaining 1% in premarket trading. There’s no fresh news, but The WSJ takes a look at how its unconventional founder—to put it mildly—has come out on top in a string of scraps with regulators.

• Moderna

  
  MRNA -2.58%
  

  shares also ticked up 1% premarket. The biotech company aims to triple production of its Covid-19 vaccine next year to as much as three billion doses, as countries seek supplies.

• Ford

  
  F -0.48%
  

  shares slipped 3.2% premarket. The auto maker posted its highest quarterly net income in years, fueled by strong pricing in North America.

• MGM Resorts

  
  MGM -0.43%
  

  shares added 1.1% premarket after the casino operator reported another quarterly loss, but it was smaller than Wall Street expected.

Market Fact

• 10-year Treasury yields have climbed steadily this year, rising to nearly 1.75% at the end of the first quarter from about 0.9% at the end of 2020 as investors anticipated an accelerating economic recovery following the worst of the pandemic.

Chart of the Day 

• The stock market is set to close out President Biden’s first 100 days in office on Thursday with its best start to a presidential term since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Investors have been snapping up shares of companies in the travel industry and bidding down stocks that benefited from last year’s rapid shift to working from home.

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