U.S. Futures Rise as Alphabet Antitrust Ruling Boosts Sentiment

U.S. equity futures ticked higher on Wednesday, recovering from a weak start to the holiday-shortened week. Investors welcomed news that Alphabet avoided the harshest penalties in a landmark antitrust ruling, while attention also turned to a wave of corporate earnings reports.

Futures Snapshot

• S&P 500 Futures: +0.3%
• Nasdaq 100 Futures: +0.5%
• Dow Jones Futures: +0.2%

The gains come after Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday, weighed by tariff concerns and upcoming economic data.

Alphabet Surges After Court Ruling

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) jumped more than 5% in extended trading after Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google would not be forced to divest its Chrome browser or halt payments to Apple and others for product pre-installations.

The decision spares Google from one of the most severe potential penalties in the Justice Department’s case, even as the court reaffirmed that it held a monopoly in search.

• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) also traded higher, benefiting from the decision to maintain Google’s default search placement on iPhones.

Corporate Movers

• Macy’s (NYSE: M): Shares surged after the retailer posted better-than-expected Q2 results and raised full-year guidance. Comparable sales rose at the strongest pace in three years.
• Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR): Raised its annual outlook as value-seeking shoppers boosted demand. Still, shares slipped after analysts at Vital Knowledge warned its results weren’t “as robust as they look.”
• Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC): Shares edged higher after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to equal-weight from underweight. Analysts said the firm’s plan to split into two separate companies would limit downside risks.
• Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS): Gained in premarket after delivering revenue above Wall Street expectations and issuing a strong forecast, citing robust cybersecurity demand.