Bitcoin price today: steady near $92k after sharp losses; Fed caution weighs
Investing.com-- Wall Street futures rose sharply on Wednesday evening, buoyed chiefly by a jump in artificial intelligence bellwether Nvidia after it posted stronger-than-expected earnings and guidance, helping reaffirm the AI trade.
Futures rose after Wall Street’s first positive session in five, as dip-buying and bullish positioning ahead of Nvidia helped markets rise past growing economic uncertainty and hawkish-leaning minutes from the Federal Reserve. Focus is now on upcoming nonfarm payrolls data for more cues on the labor market and interest rates.
S&P 500 Futures rose 1% to 6,730.75 by 19:12 ET (00:12 GMT). Nasdaq 100 Futures surged 1.5% to 25,104.75 points, while Dow Jones Futures rose 0.4% to 46,406 points.
Nvidia surges on earnings, guidance beat; pushes back on bubble narrative
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) surged 5.2% to an indicated 10-day high in aftermarket trade, as the AI major clocked stronger-than-expected earnings and guidance for the third quarter.
The company flagged stellar demand for its cutting-edge chips, and also pushed back against concerns over an AI valuation bubble in its post-earnings call.
CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia was seeing “something very different” in that AI-driven demand for its chips was set to broaden beyond just data centers and hyperscalers.
He also dismissed criticisms of circular investment by the company, stating that Nvidia’s investment in OpenAI was intended to “expand our ecosystem and support their growth.”
The stellar quarterly print from Nvidia, which acts as a bellwether for AI demand, sparked strong gains across tech shares, helping them rebound from steep losses in recent sessions.
Nvidia peer AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) surged 4% in aftermarket trade, while Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI) jumped 3% and 6%, respectively.
Amkor Technology Inc (NASDAQ:AMKR) rallied 10% after Nvidia said the firm will be a key partner in developing U.S. chip packaging technology.
Wall St rises for first time in five sessions; payrolls in focus
Wall Street indexes rose for the first time in five sessions on Wednesday, aided by bargain buying in tech and other battered sectors.
But overall gains were limited by growing bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in December, especially after the minutes of the central bank’s October meeting showed policymakers divided over future action.
Traders sharply pared back bets on a December cut after the minutes, and are now pricing in a 24% chance for a 25 basis point cut, down from the prior day’s probability of 42.4%, CME Fedwatch showed.
Mixed retailer earnings also weighed, with Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) down 2.8% after it cut its annual guidance. Lowe’s Companies Inc (NYSE:LOW), on the other hand, rallied 4% on stronger-than-expected earnings, although it also lowered its full-year profit guidance.
Retail giant Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) is set to report on Thursday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 6,642.19 points, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.6% to 22,564.23 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 46,138.77 points.
Focus is now squarely on nonfarm payrolls data for September, due on Thursday. The print is expected to offer some definitive cues on the labor market, although delays in official data, due to a prolonged government shutdown, is expected to leave the Fed flying blind into December’s meeting.