U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday evening as investors piled into technology and artificial intelligence stocks following strong earnings from Google owner Alphabet, which also helped put trade uncertainty on the backburner. 

Futures rose following another strong session on Wall Street, with tech gaining after Amazon.com and Nvidia flagged strong demand for AI data centers. Stronger-than-expected earnings from AI software developer ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW) also aided tech stocks. 

Investors were encouraged by President Donald Trump stating that talks with China were underway, although Chinese officials said no trade talks had taken place. Focus remained squarely on potential reductions in U.S. tariffs, amid heightened concerns over the economic impact of the trade war. 

S&P 500 Futures rose 0.4% to 5,531.0 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.5% to 19,427.25 points by 19:46 ET (23:46 GMT). Dow Jones Futures lagged, trading sideways at 40,260.0 points. 

Alphabet surges on strong earnings, boosts tech 

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares rallied nearly 5% in aftermarket trade, after the company clocked much stronger than expected earnings for the first quarter and announced a $70 billion buyback. 

The company also reaffirmed its ambitious AI development plans, offering more confidence that AI-driven demand for chips and data centers will persist. The company is among Wall Street’s biggest spenders on AI.

Still, Alphabet did flag some potential headwinds from macroeconomic uncertainty, while growth in its ad business revenue, which is its biggest moneymaker, also shrank from the prior quarter .

But Alphabet’s earnings set a strong precedent for other major Wall Street tech stocks, especially those with heavy exposure to AI. 

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose more than 1% each after hours, while chipmaker TSMC (NYSE:TSM) added 0.5%. 

More major tech earnings are due in the coming days, with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) set to report next week. 

Gains in tech stocks were a major boost to Wall Street on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 2% to 5,484.78 points, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 2.7% to 17,166.04 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% to 40,093.40 points. 

Consumer earnings underwhelm, Intel slides 

Beyond most tech firms, earnings from other sectors were less upbeat, especially in sectors sensitive to economic ructions. Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG), American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL), Skechers USA Inc (NYSE:SKX), and PepsiCo Inc (NASDAQ:PEP) all cut or withdrew their guidance due to uncertainty over consumer spending. 

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) slid 5% in afterhours trade as weak guidance offset consensus-beating earnings, with the struggling chipmaker also flagging heightened concerns over macro headwinds from a trade war.

A barrage of company earnings are due in the coming weeks, although focus will be more on guidance for the current year, especially in the face of heightened economic uncertainty.