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Futures up: Dow 0.06%, S&P 500 0.62%, Nasdaq 1.09%

Oct 31 (Reuters) - S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures gained on

Friday after upbeat forecasts from Apple ( AAPL ) and Amazon ( AMZN ) helped

soothe nerves a day after the indexes logged their steepest drop

in more than three weeks.

Amazon's ( AMZN ) shares surged 11.5% in premarket trading

after the company forecast quarterly sales above estimates on

the back of its cloud revenue rising at the fastest clip in

nearly three years.

Apple ( AAPL ) rose 2.3% as its forecasts for holiday

quarter iPhone sales and overall revenue surpassed Wall Street

expectations.

With all but Nvidia ( NVDA ) among the so-called

"Magnificent Seven" having reported quarterly results, investors

got a fresh look at how aggressively Big Tech is spending on

artificial intelligence. The group - which makes up roughly 35%

of the S&P 500's weight - plans to funnel billions into chips

and data centers to power AI ambitions.

The spending spree, however, has spooked markets.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted

their steepest intraday declines since October 10, with the

benchmark index closing at its lowest in more than a week.

Shares of Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Meta led losses

after their guidance flagged heavier AI-related outlays, stoking

concerns over whether such investments can sustain long-term

growth.

At 4:18 a.m., Dow E-minis were up 30 points, or

0.06%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 42.75 points, or 0.62%,

while Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 280.25 points, or 1.09%

All three indexes are poised for their third straight weekly

rise.

Of the 278 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported

earnings to date for the third quarter, 83.1% have beaten

analysts' expectations, according to data compiled by LSEG.

MONTHLY GAINS DESPITE TEMPERED FED OUTLOOK

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was on track for its seventh

consecutive monthly advance, its longest streak since May 2017.

The S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow were headed for their sixth.

While expectations for faster Federal Reserve rate cuts

buoyed stocks earlier in the month, markets are still adjusting

to a shift in the Fed's policy outlook after the central bank

delivered a widely expected quarter-point rate cut but signaled

that another move in December was not a "foregone conclusion."

The Fed's cautious language prompted traders to scale back

bets on a third cut this year, with futures now pricing a 67.9%

chance of a similar-sized move in December, down from nearly 90%

earlier in the week.

October proved challenging for investors and policymakers

alike. A government shutdown delayed key economic data releases,

leaving markets and the Fed with limited visibility on the

economy's health.

In other premarket moves, Netflix ( NFLX ) rose 3.4% after

Reuters reported it was actively exploring a bid for Warner Bros

Discovery's ( WBD ) studio and streaming business.

Warner Bros rose 2.5%.

Western Digital ( WDC ) jumped 11.5% after forecasting

quarterly earnings above Wall Street estimates.

Strategy rose 6.9% after posting a profit in the

third quarter, compared with a loss a year earlier.

(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank

Dhaniwala)