Nasdaq Futures Pop After Microsoft Earnings

Stock futures are higher Wednesday, following a batch of better-than-expected earnings. Specifically, Big Tech firm Microsoft (MSFT), blue-chip Boeing (BA), and fast food staple Chipotle (CMG) are all firmly higher following their quarterly reports, while Alphabet (GOOGL) has just inched its way into the black following its own strong results.

At last glance, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are modestly higher, while futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are up triple digits. Meanwhile, durable good orders topped estimates by a considerable margin.

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• Plus, unpacking Microsoft's post-earnings pop; Activision Blizzard's blunder; and everything happening with Boeing.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1 million call contracts and 969,147 million put contracts exchanged on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.90 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.77.
2. Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) sports a 7.7% premarket lead, after the Big Tech name reported earnings, revenue, and guidance that bested Wall Street's expectations. At least 10 analysts hiked their price target on MSFT in response. The shares are headed for their highest position in more than a year, already up 14.9% year-to-date.
3. Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:ATVI) is down 11.1% before the bell, after the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) -- Britain's top competition regulator -- said it will block Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of the video game publisher. If these losses hold, ATVI could move below its year-over-year breakeven mark.
4. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) reported a wider-than-expected loss for the first quarter, but the stock is on track to add nearly 4% in electronic trading after revenue and free cash flow beat forecasts. The aerospace and defense company also announced plans to boost 737 Max jet production. Year-over-year, BA is up nearly 15%.
5. For economic data today, the goods trade balance is on tap.

European Bourses Fail to Shake Off Bank Fears

Asian markets finished mostly lower on Wednesday, though the Hong Kong Hang Seng managed to secure at 0.7% win after Hong Kong’s exports and imports fell 1.5% and 0.6% year-over-year, respectively. Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.7%, while China’s Shanghai Composite inched 0.02% lower. The South Korean Kospi lost 0.2%, after the country’s consumer sentiment index for April jumped to 95.1 from March’s 92.

European stocks are lower at last glance, struggling to shake off jitters from the First Republic (FRC) stock selloff. At last check, the French CAC 40 is down 1.1%, the German DAX moves 0.7% lower, and London’s FTSE 100 drops 0.4%.