US stock futures climbed Wednesday evening as Wall Street reacted to Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings report in a move that helped rekindle broader AI trade by stemming bubble fears, at least for now.
Futures tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) led the way higher, rising 1.2%. Futures tied to the S&P 500 (ES=F) were up 0.9%. Those tied to Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F), which includes fewer tech stocks, rose 0.4%.
Nvidia surged more than 5% in after-hours trading after the chipmaker delivered an earnings beat and issued a stronger-than-expected revenue outlook for the fourth quarter. CEO Jensen Huang said demand for the company’s Blackwell processors is “off the charts,” easing concern that the recent cooldown in AI-linked stocks signaled a longer-term slowdown.
The upbeat after-hours reaction followed a modest rebound during Wednesday’s regular session, which saw the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow (^DJI) break a four-day losing streak. Despite the bounce, major indexes remain in negative territory for the week amid a broader pullback in growth stocks.
Meanwhile, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s October meeting showed policymakers with “strongly differing views” over whether cooling labor conditions or stubborn inflation pose the greater risk to the economy. The divide fed uncertainty over the central bank’s December decision, with a number of officials signaling no additional rate cuts this year.
Investors will turn next to Thursday morning’s delayed September nonfarm payrolls report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which was pushed back due to the federal government shutdown. Walmart (WMT) is also due to report before the market opens Thursday in the latest health check for big-box retailers ahead of the holiday season.
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