By Caitlin McCabe

Better-than-expected earnings from both Microsoft and Meta Platforms boosted markets Thursday, reassuring investors of the relative resilience of the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants amid tariff uncertainty.

Facebook parent Meta reported strong sales and said growth would remain steady, assuaging concerns tariffs would harm its digital-ads business-a chunk of which comes from Chinese companies like Temu and Shein. Microsoft, meanwhile, indicated that the major corporations that drive the bulk of its revenue aren't slashing their technology budgets just yet.

Meta and Microsoft stocks both zoomed higher in premarket trading. Other Big Tech stocks rallied, too. Contracts tied to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100 each advanced more than 1% each.

Signs of thawing tensions between the U.S. and China also offered investors good news as May kicked off. Beijing-backed social media accounts said U.S. officials had reached out to Chinese counterparts to discuss trade-something China sees "little downside in exploring," one state-linked account said.

Investors don't have long to wait for their next insight into how the biggest tech companies are coping with trade uncertainty. Results from Amazon and Apple are due this afternoon. Shares in the former rallied ahead of the open, but Apple stock fell after a judge ruled it had violated an antitrust ruling.

Before the coming tech earnings, investors will parse results from companies including McDonald's and Eli Lilly this morning, plus readings on manufacturing activity.

In recent trading:

-- Stock futures rallied, led by contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100. The gains come after a tumultuous April, marked by big swings in U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 finished with its third-straight monthly decline.

-- Benchmark Treasury yields ticked down, having settled Wednesday at 4.17%.

-- The yen weakened, boosting the Nikkei 225. The Bank of Japan held interest rates and halved its growth forecast for the Japanese economy as tariffs begin to bite.

-- The WSJ Dollar Index strengthened, after notching its largest decline in April since 2022.

-- Oil prices dropped, with Brent futures slipping below $60 a barrel. Crude prices have been hit by fears the trade war will slow economic activity.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 01, 2025 06:23 ET (10:23 GMT)

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