Trump/Cook, Nissan weakness, more tariffs and gold - what’s moving markets
Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures ticked higher on Thursday evening after Wall Street closed sharply lower, weighed down by steep losses in Nvidia following its quarterly earnings, while investors remained cautious ahead of a key inflation report due later this week.
S&P 500 Futures inched 0.2% higher to 5,888.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.4% to 20,678.25 points by 19:19 ET (00:19 GMT). Dow Jones Futures ticked up 0.1% to 43,331.0 points.
Nvidia’s slump drags S&P 500, Nasdaq lower
NVIDIA’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock experienced a significant decline of 8.5% on Thursday, closing at $120.15, despite reporting strong fourth-quarter earnings that surpassed Wall Street expectations.
The downturn was primarily attributed to concerns over narrowing profit margins and potential challenges in the AI chip market.
This anticipated decrease is linked to increased production costs associated with the accelerated rollout of the Blackwell systems and chips.
In the regular trading session, the NASDAQ Composite index slumped 2.8% to 18,544.52 points, reflecting a sell-off in the tech-heavy index.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.4% lower, while the S&P 500 ended 1.6% lower at 5,861.70 points.
Other chipmakers also declined, with a 7.1% fall in Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) and a 5% drop in Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD).
Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) shares dropped more than 4% after the software company provided a revenue forecast that fell below analysts’ expectations.
US econ indicators signal potential slowdown; PCE inflation awaited
The U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday reported a significant increase in initial unemployment claims for the week ending February 22.
Analysts attribute this surge to a combination of corporate layoffs and severe winter weather affecting various regions.
In a separate release, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis provided its second estimate for the fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP).
The data confirmed that the economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.3% during this period, a deceleration from the 3.1% growth observed in the third quarter.
Last week’s services PMI data and Michigan’s consumer sentiment also showed that the economy was stalling, bolstering expectations of interest rate cuts in 2025. However, the Fed is expected to hold rates steady in the near term.
In parallel, investors are awaiting the upcoming release of the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation.
Scheduled for release on Friday, the PCE is expected to show a 0.3% increase for January, with a year-over-year growth of 2.5%. While this indicates a deceleration in annual price growth, persistent high costs in essential sectors like housing and healthcare are expected to continue to burden consumers.