U.S. stock-index futures surged on Thursday, as investors reacted to strong earnings reports of Apple (AAPL; +2.7%) and Facebook (FB; +7.6%), and better-than-expected Q1 U.S. GDP data.

Global Stocks:

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

FXStreet notes that the market has had an impressive rally over the past year, rising 91% on a total return basis since the March lows. As a result, the market has reached a new high 27 times so far this year, already outpacing the average number of all-time highs achieved per year since 1988. Should “do-it-yourselfers” invest at all-time highs? According to Jordan Jackson, Global Market Strategist at JP Morgan, history suggests that now may be just as good as any to put cash to work in the market – especially if you’re investing for the long run like retirement.

“While we believe the path of least resistance for markets is higher, it’s reasonable to expect some choppiness as elevated valuations, risks of a new COVID-19 strain outbreak and materially higher inflation, all pose risks to the outlook.”

“For many do-it-yourselfers (‘DIYers’) and other retail investors, as the market continues to hit new all-time highs, it’s likely they may want to pull back on risk even further. However, history suggests that now may be just as good as any to put cash to work in the market – especially if you’re investing for the long run like retirement.” 

“If you invested in the S&P 500 on any random day since the start of 1988, on average, your one-year total return was +11.9%. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, if we only consider investments on days when the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high, your average one-year total return was +14.3%. Moreover, if we look at cumulative total returns three or five years out, the takeaway is the same.” 

McDonald's (MCD) reported Q1 FY 2021 earnings of $1.92 per share (versus $1.47 per share in Q1 FY 2020), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.80 per share.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $5.125 bln (+8.7% y/y), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $5.015 bln.

MCD fell to $230.50 (-0.82%) in pre-market trading.

Caterpillar (CAT) reported Q1 FY 2021 earnings of $2.87 per share (versus $1.60 per share in Q1 FY 2020), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.88 per share.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $11.887 bln (+11.8% y/y), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $11.000 bln.

CAT rose to $237.00 (+2.02%) in pre-market trading.

Merck (MRK) reported Q1 FY 2021 earnings of $1.40 per share (versus $1.50 per share in Q1 FY 2020), missing analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.63 per share.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $12.080 bln (+0.2% y/y), missing analysts’ consensus estimate of $12.709 bln.

The company also issued in-line guidance for FY 2021, projecting EPS of $6.48-6.88 versus analysts’ consensus estimate of $6.51 and revenues of $51.8-53.8 bln versus analysts’ consensus estimate of $52.11 bln.

MRK fell to $75.00 (-2.71%) in pre-market trading.

Ford Motor (F) reported Q1 FY 2021 earnings of $0.89 per share (versus -$0.23 per share in Q1 FY 2020), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.13 per share.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $33.554 bln (+7.1% y/y), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $32.719 bln.

The company, however, warned it expects to lose about 50% of its planned Q2 FY 2021 production, due to the chip shortage, but Q2 should be the trough.

F fell to $12.10 (-2.65%) in pre-market trading.

Facebook (FB) reported Q1 FY 2021 earnings of $3.30 per share (versus $1.71 per share in Q1 FY 2020), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $2.32 per share.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $26.200 bln (+47.7% y/y), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $23.608 bln.

FB rose to $329.50 (+7.29%) in pre-market trading.

Apple (AAPL) reported Q2 FY 2021 earnings of $1.40 per share (versus $2.55 per share in Q2 FY 2020), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.98 per share.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $89.584 bln (+53.6% y/y), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $76.837 bln.

The company did not provide Q3 FY 2021 guidance.

Apple's board of directors also declared a cash dividend of $0.22/share, an increase of 7 percent, and authorized an increase of $90 billion to the existing share repurchase program.

AAPL rose to $137.62 (+3.02%) in pre-market trading.