Morning Movers: Alphabet, Eli Lilly rise following quarterly results

Markets look set to open cautiously on Thursday as equity futures came off recent highs and showed little conviction following the Federal Reserve’s latest rate cut and a mixed round of tech earnings. The Fed delivered the widely expected 25 basis point cut, but signaled a more careful stance going forward, with Chair Jerome Powell emphasizing that additional easing in December is not guaranteed given lingering uncertainty around inflation and labor data. The messaging landed unevenly with investors, who had largely priced in another cut before year-end.

Tech stocks remain at the center of attention as corporate results pulled sentiment in different directions. Alphabet jumped after reporting stronger-than-expected ad revenue and cloud growth, while Meta stumbled under the weight of a large one-time tax expense and signals of even higher spending on AI. Microsoft slipped as well, with higher-than-expected AI-related costs tempering enthusiasm for its long-term margins.

Elsewhere, President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping announced a preliminary deal covering rare earths, soybeans, and fentanyl-related tariffs. The announcement sparked brief optimism, though details remain murky and Beijing has yet to confirm key elements of the agreement.

In pre-market trading, S&P 500 futures fell 0.35%, Nasdaq futures fell 0.54% and Dow futures fell 0.32%.

Check out this morning’s top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.

UP AFTER EARNINGS –

• Cardinal Health (CAH) up 10%
• Fox Corp. (FOXA) up 4%
• Restaurant Brands (QSR) up 4%
• Eli Lilly (LLY) up 3%
• MasterCard (MA) up 1%
• L3Harris Technologies (LHX) up 1%
• Alphabet (GOOG) up 8%

DOWN AFTER EARNINGS –

• Roblox (RBLX) down 6%
• Altria Group (MO) down 5%
• Biogen (BIIB) down 3%
• Merck (MRK) down 2%
• Hershey (HSY) down 1%
• Meta platforms (META) down 10%
• Microsoft (MSFT) down 3%
• Comcast (CMCSA) down 7%
• Cigna (CI) down 8%