U.S. stock futures edged lower Thursday as investors digested major technology earnings and monitored developments ahead of key nuclear negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials. Results from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) dominated market attention, while oil prices held steady near recent highs.
Futures Move Lower
Futures tied to the main U.S. equity benchmarks traded slightly down as markets assessed fresh earnings from artificial intelligence heavyweight Nvidia.
By 03:05 ET, Dow futures were down 122 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures slipped 7 points, or 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures declined 27 points, also 0.1%. The major Wall Street indices had closed higher in the previous session as investors positioned ahead of Nvidia’s earnings release.
Market sentiment on Wednesday had improved on optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, marking another turn in what has been a volatile narrative around the emerging technology. The Nasdaq led gains, reflecting renewed confidence that AI investment could deliver broad economic benefits, contrasting with earlier concerns that new AI models might disrupt software companies and reduce returns on large-scale data centre spending.
Comments from Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin also supported equities. Barkin said it remains uncertain whether automation will lead to widespread job losses and suggested AI could ultimately improve labour market efficiency.
Nvidia Shares Flat Despite Earnings Beat
Nvidia delivered earnings for the January quarter that exceeded expectations and issued stronger-than-forecast revenue guidance for the current quarter, yet its shares showed limited reaction in after-hours trading.
Some investors expressed concern that the chipmaker was not returning sufficient capital to shareholders despite strong cash generation. Yvette Schmitter, CEO of IT consulting firm Fusion Collective, noted that Nvidia generated $35 billion in cash during the fourth quarter but returned only 12% to shareholders, compared with 52% a year earlier.
Schmitter added that “this is happening at the same time Nvidia is claiming” that its sold-out Ampere chips are a “good signal for demand.”
“[W]hy is the company with record cash generation cutting buybacks by half?” Schmitter said.
The issue was also raised during Nvidia’s post-earnings conference call, when a UBS analyst asked whether the company planned to distribute part of the roughly $100 billion in cash expected this year. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said Nvidia intends to continue investing heavily across the broader AI ecosystem, while Chief Executive Jensen Huang argued that AI model output will underpin the next generation of computing.
Salesforce Slides on Weak Revenue Outlook
Shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) fell sharply in extended trading after the cloud software provider issued a revenue forecast that came in below Wall Street expectations.
The company projected fiscal 2027 revenue between $45.80 billion and $46.20 billion, slightly below the midpoint consensus estimate of $46.06 billion, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. The outlook signalled that demand for enterprise software may be softening as companies tighten spending amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
Salesforce is simultaneously ramping up investment in artificial intelligence capabilities to counter investor concerns that newer AI models, including those developed by startup Anthropic, could reduce demand for traditional software services. These concerns have contributed to heightened volatility in the stock during early 2026 as the company attempts to address what some view as an existential risk to the software-as-a-service sector.
Despite the cautious near-term outlook, Salesforce raised its fiscal 2030 revenue target to $63 billion from $60 billion previously, pointing to expected growth driven by so-called agentic AI technologies.
“[T]his is not a perfect report, but it should cross the ’good enough’ threshold, with the company’s AI products showing rapid growth (albeit off a very small base) while core business holds in well (in terms of margins and growth) and cash flow generation stays healthy,” analysts at Vital Knowledge said in a note.
Oil Steady Ahead of U.S.-Iran Negotiations
Oil prices remained largely unchanged Thursday, hovering near seven-month highs as markets awaited the third round of nuclear discussions between Washington and Tehran later in the day.
Brent crude futures rose 0.2% to $70.84 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures gained 0.2% to $65.62.
U.S. representatives, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, are scheduled to meet Iranian officials in Geneva as Washington seeks progress toward an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme.
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that “bad things” could happen if meaningful progress is not achieved, raising concerns that prolonged tensions could disrupt exports from Iran, the third-largest oil producer in OPEC.
Gold Edges Higher
Gold prices moved slightly higher as uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade tariffs supported safe-haven demand, while investors also awaited developments from the U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Spot gold was last up 0.6% at $5,196.55 per ounce by 01:40 ET (06:40 GMT), while U.S. gold futures slipped 0.5% to $5,200.54 per ounce.
Alongside geopolitical developments, traders are assessing the implications of newly announced U.S. tariffs following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down President Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs.
Markets are also awaiting key U.S. economic data later in the day, including weekly jobless claims figures. Gold prices have remained supported this year by ongoing geopolitical risks, central bank buying and portfolio diversification flows.