U.S. stock index futures edged higher Thursday, rebounding after a losing session as investors digest some important corporate earnings ahead of the release of key economic data.
At 06:10 ET (10:10 GMT), Dow Jones Futures rose 205 points, or 0.5%, S&P 500 Futures gained 18 points, or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 85 points, or 0.4%.
The main indices fell on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.4%, the S&P 500 slipping 0.6%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite slumping 1.1%, underperforming with Nvidia's earnings in focus.
Nvidia dips as soft outlook eclipses strong earnings, bumper buyback Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock fell 2% premarket, fading earlier stronger losses, as investors revisited the chipmaker's results, which included stronger-than-expected profit for the May-July quarter and also a $50 billion share buyback.
That said, its revenue guidance for the current quarter disappointed investors hoping for better growth, especially after a year of outsized earnings.
“Nvidia blew past estimates with record top and bottom lines, driven by strong demand for its AI infrastructure and executives forecast new record sales this quarter. However, the nearly 80% y/y projected expansion means further deceleration and a notable departure from the recent triple-digit growth rates," said Nikos Tzabouras, Senior Financial Editorial Writer at Tradu.
Nvidia was sitting on a 150% valuation spike this year on the back of hype over AI, making it vulnerable to a heavy degree of profit-taking that had battered the broader tech sector.
More corporate earnings due
Investors will also have the chance to study quarterly results from the likes of some notable consumer names, including Dollar General (NYSE:DG), Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA), Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) and Best Buy (NYSE:BBY).
Elsewhere, Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) will be in the spotlight after both companies released their results after the close Wednesday.
Growing expectations of a rate cut Aside from the corporate sector, weekly initial jobless claims, pending home sales and the latest iteration of second-quarter growth data are due later in the session, ahead of the widely-watched July personal consumption expenditures price index on Friday.
Growing expectations of an interest rate cut in September had buoyed Wall Street indexes in recent sessions, although gains were this time more geared towards economically sensitive sectors.
Crude steadies after losing sessions Crude prices steadied Thursday after two losing sessions, as traders digested the prospect of extended supply disruptions.
By 06:10 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 0.1% higher to $74.58 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 0.1% to $77.55 a barrel.
Crude markets were nursing two straight days of losses, reversing a recent rebound amid persistent concerns that slowing growth in the U.S. and China will dent demand in the coming months.
Production disruptions in Libya, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, kept traders attaching some risk premium to crude, as did signs of a sustained conflict in the Middle East.
Additionally, Ukraine's military said on Thursday it had attacked two oil storage facilities in Russia - the Atlas (NYSE:ATCO) oil depot in the southern Rostov region as well as the Zenit oil facility in Russia's Kirov region.
