April 30, 2021: -On Thursday, U.S. stock index futures increase after blowout earnings results from two of the biggest tech companies, such as Apple and Facebook.

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 182 points. S&P 500 futures increased 0.7%, with the benchmark poised to set another record. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1%. Apple and Facebook’s quarterly solid results helped its futures.

According to Apple, sales jumped 54% in the quarter, with each product category sees double-digit growth. The company also said it would raise its dividend by 7% and authorized $90 billion in share buybacks. Apple shares increases around 3% in early trading.

Facebook’s revenue fluctuated 48%, driven by higher-priced ads. Facebook increased above 7% in the premarket. Qualcomm shares soared 5% in trading after the report of a 52% high in revenue.

Cruise stocks jumped after the CDC announced sailings from U.S. ports could start in July. Carnival and Norwegian shares jumped over 2% in premarket trading.

Thursday is the busiest day of the quarterly earnings season, with roughly 11% of the S&P 500 slated to provide quarterly updates. Caterpillar, McDonald’s, Comcast, and Merck are among the names on deck before the market opens. Amazon, Gilead Sciences, Twitter, U.S. Steel, and Western Digital will post.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said that it would hold interest rates around zero. The S&P came down from its high after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said, following the decision of the Federal Open Market Committee, that there are few signs of froth in the market.

“Rates remain unchanged for now and, despite improving economic data, taper talk remained off the table at today’s Federal Reserve meeting,” said Bethany Payne, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson.