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U.S. stock index futures edged lower Thursday evening, pressured by a sharp drop in Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) after the e-commerce giant issued a weak revenue forecast for Q1 2025. The company projected sales between $151 billion and $155.5 billion, missing analysts' expectations of $158.33 billion. Despite strong Q4 earnings, Amazon faces headwinds from a stronger dollar, dampening overseas e-commerce revenue. Its cloud unit, Amazon Web Services, also reported softer-than-expected earnings, mirroring trends at Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), raising concerns over AI investment returns.
S&P 500 Futures dipped 0.1% to 6,098.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures slipped 0.1% to 21,848.0 points. Dow Jones Futures remained steady at 44,849.0 points.
Markets turned cautious ahead of January’s nonfarm payrolls report, set for release Friday, which could shape expectations on Federal Reserve policy. Recent labor data suggests job market resilience, potentially supporting the Fed’s stance on maintaining interest rates amid inflation concerns. Policymakers also expressed caution over economic uncertainty tied to President Donald Trump’s renewed trade war with China, following new 10% tariffs and retaliatory measures from Beijing.
Despite weakness in retail and cloud sectors, AI-related optimism buoyed semiconductor stocks. Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) gained 3.1% Thursday, holding steady in after-hours trade, helping the Nasdaq Composite rise 0.5% to 19,791.99 points. The S&P 500 climbed 0.4% to 6,083.52 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3% to 44,747.70 points.
Investor sentiment remains mixed, with focus shifting to job data for further clues on economic strength and potential rate moves.
