US pre-open: Stocks seen up ahead of Microsoft, Alphabet results

(Sharecast News) - US stock futures pointed to a firmer open on Wall Street on Tuesday as investors eyed results from tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft after the close. At 1215 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.5%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were 0.5% and 0.6% firmer, respectively.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "We've talked about the Magnificent Seven propping up the equity market this year but it's got kind of extreme. Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia and Tesla, have driven all of the gains in global stocks this year.

"Alphabet and Microsoft report today. As ever watch the Google owner for read across to digital advertising spending for the likes of Meta and Amazon, as well as Pinterest. And watch Microsoft for cloud spending growth for Amazon."

Ahead of the bell, results were out from General Motors, General Electric, Coca-Cola, 3M, Halliburton and Kimberly-Clark.

GM gained in pre-market trade after its third-quarter results beat expectations, but the company withdraw its full-year outlook amid rising costs.

Coca-Cola was also up in pre-market trade after posting better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and lifting its full-year forecasts.

On the macroeconomic front, the S&P Global manufacturing and services PMIs are at 1445 BST, while the Richmond Fed manufacturing index is due out at 1500 BST.