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U.S. stock futures pushed higher early Friday as Wall Street attempted to turn a violent midweek selloff into a technology led rebound, powered by strong earnings from Amazon and renewed appetite for artificial intelligence winners.

Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.8 percent, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 159 points, or 0.3 percent. S&P 500 futures gained 0.1 percent as investors moved back into growth names after a rough bout of selling.

Amazon was the standout, surging 13 percent before the bell after second quarter revenue beat expectations. Strength in the company’s cloud computing business helped reassure investors that artificial intelligence spending is still alive and well.

That mattered because the market has been desperate for proof that the AI trade is more than a Wall Street story with a rich price tag. Amazon delivered enough evidence to restart risk appetite, at least for the moment.

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Apple offered a more complicated picture, falling more than 7 percent in premarket trading. Its fiscal third quarter revenue topped expectations, helped by a 22 percent jump in iPhone sales, but a miss in services revenue gave traders a reason to hit the sell button.

Meta, which dropped almost 8 percent in Thursday trading, recovered 1.7 percent ahead of the open. The bounce suggested investors were willing to give some mega cap names another look after a punishing reset.

Thursday’s rally was led by Microsoft, which jumped 16 percent after reporting stronger than expected Azure cloud growth. The results lit a fire under AI related chipmakers, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF rising more than 8 percent.

The rebound followed a brutal Wednesday session, when the Dow sank more than 1,100 points for its worst single day decline since April 2025. Selling intensified after the Federal Reserve held rates steady, feeding concern that policymakers may be behind the curve on inflation.

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The bond market sent the same warning. The 30 year Treasury yield climbed 6 basis points Wednesday to above 5.2 percent, near its highest level since 2007.

Richard Bernstein, global head of macro and customized investing at Janus Henderson Investors, said, “Investors are recalibrating expectations for Fed rate cuts, reducing the excess liquidity that has fueled speculative, momentum driven markets.” He added, “Market leadership is expanding beyond the ‘Magnificent 7’ as investors increasingly reward improving fundamentals rather than hype driven momentum.”

That shift is healthy if it lasts, because markets built only on liquidity and fashionable narratives tend to punish late buyers. Investors appear to be demanding real earnings power, not just promises dressed up as innovation.

Despite the chaos, the major averages remained on track for weekly gains heading into Friday. The Dow was up about 0.5 percent for the week, while the S&P 500 had gained roughly 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead about 0.6 percent.

Overseas markets also caught the bid. South Korea’s Kospi soared as chip giants SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics rallied, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped and European shares opened broadly higher.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rose in morning trade, while France’s CAC 40, Germany’s DAX, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 and Italy’s FTSE MIB all moved higher. The FTSE 100 hit a new record, helped by strength in technology, defense and banking shares.

“Investors continue to climb the wall of worry and sentiment improves,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. That phrase captured the mood perfectly, since traders are still staring at inflation, war risk and central bank uncertainty while pushing prices higher anyway.

Labor cost data gave the Federal Reserve more to chew on. The employment cost index rose 0.9 percent in the second quarter, slightly above expectations, while the annual gain of 3.4 percent remained just below consumer inflation.

Energy markets cooled as oil prices fell on signs crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz were recovering. West Texas Intermediate dropped to $82.24 a barrel, while Brent fell to $88.16, easing some of the geopolitical pressure that had recently lifted prices.

Defense stocks in Europe drew attention after fresh earnings updates showed stronger order books as governments increase military spending. “The political decisions to increase defence spending are now being reflected in our order book,” Hensoldt CEO Oliver Doerre said.

BP said it plans to sell its North Sea business as part of a broader asset review. U.K. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh called North Sea oil a “vital national asset” and said oil and gas will remain part of the energy mix “for years to come.”

“My priority is ensuring that the workers and local community are protected during this sale process,” Fahnbulleh said. For investors, the message is clear enough: even in a market obsessed with AI, hard assets, energy security and cash flow still matter.

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.