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Investing.com– U.S. stock futures rose strongly Thursday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way on the back of a strong outlook from AI darling Nvidia.
By 07:00 ET (12:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Futures contract was up 150 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 Futures traded 66 points, or 1.3%, higher and Nasdaq 100 Futures soared 375 points, or 2.1%.
These gains followed a middling session on Wall Street, as investors locked-in recent profits before quarterly earnings from Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), to see whether the firm could justify a massive valuation spike on the back of growing demand for artificial intelligence.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose just 0.1% on Wednesday, while the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.3%.
Nvidia surges on strong Q4 results, outlook
Nvidia stock jumped over 14% in premarket trade, coming back within sight of record highs hit earlier in February, after the world’s most valuable chipmaker reported stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings, and forecast first quarter revenue at about $24 billion, more than what analysts were expecting.
The strong earnings and outlook signaled that the firm expected to continue reaping the benefits of increased demand for AI development, given that it is a key producer of chips geared specifically towards the large-language models which surged in popularity through 2023.
Nvidia’s gains spilled over into other major tech stocks, given that investors expect AI demand to also boost the broader tech sector in the coming months. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) all posted healthy gains in premarket trading Thursday, with all three having AI products in the pipeline.
Similarly, major chipmaking stocks, such as TSMC (NYSE:TSM) Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), which are expected to benefit from increased AI demand, also gained in premarket trade.
Additionally, the likes of Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) powered ahead in Nvidia’s slipstream.
Corporate earnings continue
There are more quarterly results to digest Thursday, with Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) reporting a surprise fourth-quarter profit helped by cost cutting and some deferred payments, while Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) and Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) are scheduled for after the close.
Additionally, Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) will be in the spotlight after the e-commerce firm reported mixed earnings and guidance, while electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) forecast a disappointing production figure for 2024.
PMI data to provide economic update
Elsewhere, there is more economic data to study as investors remain wary over monetary policy, especially after the Fed minutes, released on Wednesday, largely reiterated the central bank’s stance on keeping interest rates elevated in the near-term.
Weekly jobless claims data and existing home sales figures from January are due later in the session, although most eyes will likely be on the manufacturing and services PMI data for February, which will provide a more up to date gauge of the health of the U.S. economy. .
Crude stabilizes after large inventories build
Oil prices traded largely flat Thursday, as gains on concerns over tightening global supplies due to disruptions in the Middle East have been curtailed by another hefty build in U.S. inventories.
By 07:00 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.1% lower at $77.83 a barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 0.1% to $82.94 a barrel.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. inventories grew by 7.2 million barrels in the week to February 16, much more than expectations for a build of 4.3 million barrels.
While the build was smaller than the 8.5 million barrel build reported by the API for the prior week, it was a third straight week of builds in U.S. inventories, and signaled that the world’s largest fuel consumer remained well supplied.
Official numbers from the Energy Information Administration are due later in the session.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.2% to $2,038.95/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.4% higher at 1.0856.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
Source: Investing.com