Stocks: Buoyed by Apple, Facebook earnings

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Both Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Facebook (FB, Fortune 500) reported strong quarterly earnings late Wednesday, boosting market sentiment and U.S. stock futures.

All the major U.S. indexes were rising Thursday in premarket trading, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index popping up by more than 1%.

Apple shares surged by roughly 7% premarket after the company's quarterly results beat market expectations. The company said it was expanding its stock buyback program and increasing its dividend.

Apple also revealed a seven-to-one stock split, which will make it easier for individual investors to buy a slice of the tech giant. A single share in Apple currently costs over $500.

Facebook beat expectations by posting strong mobile advertising numbers. Its shares were rising by roughly 4%.

Related: Apple shares soar on increased buyback

Shares in pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (AZN) gained by roughly 2% premarket after the firm reported better-than-expected earnings. AstraZeneca was in the spotlight earlier this week after it was reported that Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500) had considered buying the company for £60 billion ($100 billion). Some think an offer may yet come.

Meanwhile, in Paris, Alstom (ALSMY) shares surged by roughly 12% Thursday on a Bloomberg report that General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) could make a multi-billion dollar bid for the company. The French maker of turbines and trains said it was "not informed" of a takeover offer.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

More earnings will be coming through on Thursday. General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), UPS (UNITED PAR), Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) and Eli Lilly (LLY, Fortune 500) are among the big companies reporting before the opening bell. Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500), Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500), Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) and Baidu (BIDU) are slated to report after markets close.

On the economic front, investors are expecting the latest set of initial jobless claims from the U.S. Department of Labor at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Census Bureau will release durable goods orders at the same time.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

European markets were all pushing higher in morning trading, while Asian markets ended with mixed results.

On Wednesday, Wall Street broke its six-day winning streak. All three indexes ended in the red.

First Published: April 24, 2014: 4:59 AM ET

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