US Pre-Market, 31 July 2026: Nasdaq Futures Lead by 64bp as Amazon Jumps and Korea Posts a Record

Sentiment: bullish S&P 500 futures: +0.25% | Nasdaq 100 futures: +0.89%

Nasdaq 100 futures point 0.89% higher into the 31 July 2026 open against 0.25% for S&P 500 futures, a 64 basis point gap that Amazon's cloud result and a second day of buying in semiconductors opened overnight. AMZN.US trades 10.51% higher pre-market at $260.25 after AWS revenue grew 36.7% to $42.23 billion, its fastest rate in 18 quarters. South Korea's KOSPI closed 17.91% higher overnight for the largest single-day gain in its history, while AAPL.US fell 7.91% pre-market on a services miss.

Overnight drivers

• MSFT.US rose 15.51% on Thursday to $451.10, the largest single-day advance in the company's history, after Azure growth showed AI spending converting into profit. The Nasdaq ended a six-session losing streak that day and closed 2.78% higher at 25,122.18.
• MU.US +18.36%, AMD.US +13.00% and INTC.US +11.30% on Thursday, with TSM.US +7.64%, ARM.US +7.40% and ORCL.US +8.34%. Memory and processor names led the rebound after a week of selling tied to AI valuations.
• AMZN.US +10.51% pre-market at $260.25. AWS delivered $42.23 billion against $40.54 billion expected, backlog reached $496 billion, and 2026 capital expenditure guidance rose to $220 billion from $200 billion. Third-quarter revenue guidance of $197 billion to $202 billion sits below the $204.1 billion consensus.
• AAPL.US -7.91% pre-market at $307.06. Revenue of $109.4 billion rose 16% and beat expectations, but services revenue of $30.74 billion missed the $31.22 billion consensus. CFO Kevan Parekh attributed the shortfall to mobile gaming softness and App Store business model changes in some countries.
• META.US -7.95% on Thursday to $539.03, the one large technology name that did not join the rebound.

Overnight Asia and Europe

South Korea's KOSPI closed at 6,595.45 on 31 July 2026, up 1,001.89 points or 17.91%, the largest single-day percentage gain on record for the index. The previous record was 11.95% in October 2008. Samsung Electronics rose 26.81% and SK hynix 29.95% as foreign buying returned to semiconductors. The index had fallen more than 17% over the previous three sessions, including a 10.84% single-day drop on 28 July.

• Nikkei 225: 64,362.02 (+4.03%)
• Hang Seng: 25,884.43 (+0.10%)
• STOXX 600: 652.02 (+0.32%)
• DAX: 25,675.82 (+0.25%)
• FTSE 100: 10,915.09 (+0.16%)

The Bank of Japan held its policy rate at 1% and flagged core inflation running above its 2% target. USD/JPY sits at 160.40, up 0.50%, with the weaker yen adding to the bid in Japanese equities.

Pre-market movers

• REPL.US +131% at $12.50. An FDA advisory committee voted 10 to 3 on Thursday that efficacy data from the IGNYTE study of RP1 in advanced melanoma was clinically meaningful, against the assessment of agency staff scientists. A decision is due by 2 August. The stock fell 38.01% on 28 July when those staff concerns surfaced.
• ARM.US +5.32% at $254.40, INTC.US +4.10% at $94.87 and MU.US +3.65% at $906.59, extending Thursday's semiconductor gains.
• AMD.US +3.41% at $501.96 and TSM.US +3.39% at $417.00.
• MSFT.US -0.02% at $451.02, holding all of Thursday's 15.51% advance.
• MRNA.US -1.90% at $56.82 and XOM.US -0.94% at $155.49, both giving back part of a Thursday gain.

US economic calendar today (ET)

• 08:30 Employment Cost Index for the June 2026 quarter: civilian compensation costs rose 0.9% for the three months to June and 3.4% over 12 months. Private industry wages and salaries rose 3.1% over the year, and fell 0.4% in constant dollars.
• 09:30 Cash equities open.
• 16:00 Close.

The FOMC held the federal funds rate at 3.50% to 3.75% on 29 July in a 9 to 3 vote, its fifth consecutive hold. Beth Hammack of Cleveland, Neel Kashkari of Minneapolis and Lorie Logan of Dallas dissented.

What to watch

• ES=F at 7,491.25 and NQ=F at 28,488.75 as of 08:37 ET. The 64 basis point spread separates the Amazon and semiconductor bid from the Apple drag on the index-weighted contracts. YM=F sits at 52,635.00 (+0.49%) and RTY=F at 2,965.70 (+0.39%).
• VIX at 17.13 after Thursday's 17.28% decline from 20.66, back to where it traded before the AI-valuation selling began.
• US 10-year yield at 4.68%, up 0.41%, with the US Dollar Index at 100.36, up 0.49%.
• Gold at US$4,107.90 per ounce, down 1.27%, and WTI crude at US$85.20, up 1.93%.

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