Apple Beats, Amazon's AWS Reaccelerates, the Capex Bill Stays

TL;DR

• Apple cleared the bar overnight on iPhones, services, and capital returns. Amazon's AWS revenue grew 28% year over year, the fastest in three years. The stock gave back roughly 3% after-hours on the capex commitment funding the next leg.

• Equity futures are mixed. The Dow leads, up 0.24%. The Nasdaq is off 0.17% as Amazon weighs and Apple lifts. The Russell 2000 is off 0.16%.

• Utilities is the top sector position in THOR Low Volatility today, ahead of Technology. Industrials is third. Market Pulse

Futures as of 7:25 AM EDT, May 1, 2026.

• US equity futures are mixed. The Dow leads, the Nasdaq lags on the Amazon reaction.

• S&P 500 futures are up 0.15%.

• Nasdaq 100 futures are off 0.17%.

• Dow futures are up 0.24%.

• Russell 2000 futures are off 0.16%.

WTI crude is at $104.89, off 0.17% overnight. Brent is at $111.13, up 0.66%. Both contracts have pulled back from this week's highs as the geopolitical premium eases.

Gold is at $4,579 per ounce, off 1.08%. The metal had run hard for two weeks and this is the first real pullback. Silver is off 0.26%.

The 10-year Treasury yield sits at 4.39%, roughly flat. The 2-year is at 3.94%. The curve holds at +45 bps. VIX is at 17.10, up 1.24%, still in a low-teens regime.

Bitcoin is at $77,331, up 1.6% over 24 hours. EUR/USD trades at 1.175, up 0.20%. USD/JPY sits at 156.54, holding yesterday's near two-percent yen rally on intervention talk.

ISM Manufacturing for April releases at 10 AM Eastern. The first hard activity reading since the early-month rally.

THOR Risk Gauge

Both systems sit fully deployed. THOR Index Rotation runs two broad indexes at near equal weight with under one percent in cash. THOR Low Volatility carries seven of ten sectors at roughly 14% each. The gauge reads broadly bullish on positioning. The four mega-caps that report this week are now all on the board, and the through-line is a capex bill that ties every name to the same group of suppliers. The dollar firmed back overnight, gold pulled in 1.1% off the highs, the yen held yesterday's near two-percent rally. VIX at 17 says the market is pricing the prints as expected variance, not shock. Equity exposure stays at the high end of the cycle into a session where Apple opens at the same hour Manufacturing PMI lands.

The THOR View

Utilities sit at the top of THOR Low Volatility at 14.4%. Technology is next at 14.2%. Industrials follow at 14.0%. The headline names move the index.

Utilities are the second-order read on every data center build. Microsoft and Meta both raised capex this week. Amazon's guide implied roughly $200 billion across 2026. That money lands as steel and concrete and silicon, then it lands as megawatts. Utilities is the position that captures the megawatt half of the sentence. The 10-year at 4.39% is the structural drag. Power demand growth is the offset, and it has been growing faster than rates have compressed valuations.

Industrials are the real cyclical bet in the lineup. The internal read is capex and onshoring. The capex side just got a fresh confirmation overnight from Amazon's guidance. Onshoring runs longer, with Manufacturing PMI at 10 AM the freshest tell. The Russell 2000 sitting red in the futures session is the broader small-cap economy not yet sharing the mega-cap optimism. Industrials carry that risk in the lineup. They also carry the exposure to the part of the AI build that is physical and durable, not just the chip cycle.

Technology absorbed Apple and Amazon in the same overnight session. Apple beat on services revenue at a record $31 billion and on iPhone revenue at a March quarter record. The stock reaction was modestly positive after-hours. Amazon's cloud business grew 28%, the fastest pace in three years, and the stock still gave back 3% on the capex commitment funding the next leg. The technology sector sits at 14.2% in Low Volatility. The Nasdaq 100 sits near maximum weight in Index Rotation.

Cash is essentially gone across the lineup. Index Rotation runs at less than 1%. Low Volatility holds about 2% in T-Bills. That positioning is by design when the underlying signals confirm. The reserve has been deployed. Protection from here comes from the sector mix, not the cash buffer.

Signal Watch

THOR Index Rotation — As of 4/30/26

Two indexes at near equal weight, under 1% in cash. The Nasdaq carries the morning's Apple read.

THOR Low Volatility — As of 4/30/26

Seven sectors active, three out, minimal reserves. Utilities lead on weight as the second-order play on data center power demand. Industrials are the real cyclical exposure in the lineup. Healthcare and Consumer Staples have not confirmed.

One Thing to Watch

ISM Manufacturing for April releases at 10 AM Eastern. Industrials sit near the top of THOR Low Volatility, and the small-cap futures session is leaning red while the mega-caps lead. A weaker reading confirms that divergence. A stronger one gives the cyclical position its second confirmation in three days.

Brad Roth / CIO, THOR Financial Technologies

This content reflects the opinions, analyses, and research of THOR Financial Technologies as of the date published. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and should not be relied upon as the basis for any investment decision. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results, and all investments involve risk. For more information, please go to: thorft.com