May 1 (Reuters) – S&P 500 and Dow futures ticked higher on Friday, after the indexes posted their biggest monthly gain in years, as a string of strong earnings offset concerns around a historic supply shock in oil markets.
Apple rose 2.8% in the premarket session after robust demand for its flagship iPhone 17 and the MacBook Neo helped it forecast solid sales growth for the fiscal third quarter.
The latest data showed U.S. economic growth regained speed in the first quarter and inflation accelerated in March, strengthening the case for elevated interest rates, but that did little to slow down the rally in equities.
However, the buying frenzy may be due for a reality check. Consumer spending, the economy’s main growth engine, decelerated in the quarter. The personal savings rate also declined, suggesting consumers had to tap into their savings to support spending.
Besides, the figures take into account just one month of the disruption stemming from the Middle East war. With the conflict showing few signs of abating, oil prices may become a bigger burden on households, especially as the support from tax refunds in the first quarter tapers off.
Brent crude prices have hit over $110 a barrel as the crucial shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted.
“GDP expanded at a respectable-looking pace in Q1, but a glance under the hood suggests the economy’s underlying momentum already was anemic before the energy shock was felt in earnest,” said Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
The setup comes at an inconvenient time for bulls as markets enter May, historically the start of a weaker six-month stretch for stocks.
Since 1945 through April 2026, the S&P 500 has gained an average of about 2% from May through October, according to data from Fidelity. That compares with a roughly 7% average gain from November through April.
At 5:12 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 44 points, or 0.09%, and S&P 500 E-minis rose 4.5 points, or 0.06%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis dropped 40.25 points, or 0.15%.
The S&P 500 ended April with its biggest monthly percentage gain since November 2020, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced the most since April 2020. The Dow’s monthly advance was its biggest since November 2024.
Major movers in the premarket session included Roblox, which fell 23.5% following a cut in its annual bookings forecast.
Reddit gained 16.1% after an upbeat quarterly revenue forecast.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
