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Futures up: Dow 0.3%, S&P 500 0.99%, Nasdaq 1.34%

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Microsoft ( MSFT ), Meta surge after blowout quarterly results

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June PCE figures due at 8:30 a.m. ET

(Updates with prices)

By Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap

July 31 (Reuters) - S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures climbed

to record levels on Thursday, after blockbuster earnings from

Meta and Microsoft ( MSFT ) signaled Big Tech's hefty artificial

intelligence bets were paying off.

Meta Platforms ( META ) soared 12.3% in premarket trading

after the social media giant forecast third-quarter revenue well

above estimates, thanks to AI boosting its core advertising

business.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) issued a record capital spending outlook

of $30 billion for the current quarter and reported

higher-than-expected sales in its Azure cloud computing

business. The stock surged 8.8% before the bell.

Other tech heavyweights Amazon ( AMZN ) and Nvidia ( NVDA )

also climbed 3.4% and 1.9%, respectively, while Microsoft ( MSFT ) was on

track to hit a $4 trillion market capitalization for the first

time.

At 06:45 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 63.5

points, or 0.99%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 315.5

points, or 1.34%, and Dow E-minis were up 135 points, or

0.3%.

The White House has clinched key trade deals this month,

ahead of the August 1 deadline, easing fears of a trade war.

That, coupled with the ongoing AI boom, has set U.S. stock

indexes on track for robust monthly gains.

The S&P 500 and Dow are eyeing their third consecutive

month in positive territory - their longest winning streak in

nearly a year, while the Nasdaq was poised for its best monthly

run in over 12 months.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow

ended lower as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

diluted investor expectations for an interest rate cut in

September after the central bank kept rates unchanged, as widely

expected.

Traders now see a 62.8% chance the Fed will stay pat in

September as well, according to CME's FedWatch tool.

Powell said it was too early to predict a September rate

cut, and that current policy was not restricting the economy.

The statement came after stronger-than-expected GDP data for the

second quarter.

Data on Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) - the Fed's

preferred inflation gauge - for June is due to be released at

08:30 a.m. ET.

Meanwhile, investors are also bracing for Friday's jobs

report and the looming tariff deadline, as Trump stood firm on

not extending trade negotiations for lagging partners.

EU officials said European liquor could face 15% tariffs

from August 1 until a different agreement is reached, with talks

set to continue in the fall.

Trump also announced a trade deal with South Korea on

Wednesday, setting an import tariff of 15% for the Asian

country, down from a threatened 25%.

However, caution prevailed after he threatened to impose a

25% tariff on India, even as the two nations remain at the

negotiating table.

In other stocks, Applied Digital ( APLD ) soared 24.1% after

the data center operator surpassed estimates for quarterly

revenue, thanks to AI-driven demand for its cloud

infrastructure.

(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru;

Editing by Devika Syamnath)