U.S. index futures indicate a slight pre-market rise on Wednesday as investors focus on Nvidia’s upcoming quarterly earnings announcement, expected to have a significant market impact. Retail and tech stocks, including Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN), PVH Corp. (NYSE:PVH), and Ambarella (NASDAQ:AMBA), show notable pre-market movements as the market braces for potential surprises in the AI and semiconductor sectors.
As of 4:58 AM ET, Dow Jones futures dipped 1 point, or 0.00%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.08%, and Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.14%. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 3.825%.
On today’s U.S. economic agenda, Fed Governor Christopher Waller will deliver a speech in India at 1:15 AM ET, focusing on payment systems. Later, at 6:00 PM, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic will also give a speech.
In the commodities market, oil prices extended losses after falling over 2% in the previous session, ending a three-day gain streak. Concerns over supply in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as global fuel demand, continue to influence the market.
West Texas Intermediate crude for October dropped 0.78% to $74.94 per barrel, while Brent for October fell 0.64% to $79.04 per barrel.
Gold prices (PM:XAUUSD) declined due to a strengthening dollar, as investors await a U.S. inflation report that could influence rate cuts in September. Despite the drop, gold maintains a short-term uptrend but faces resistance at higher levels.
Asia-Pacific markets showed mixed movements. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,071.4, near flat after the CPI report. China’s CSI 300 lost 0.57%, hitting a seven-month low. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.22%, while the Topix advanced 0.42%. The Kospi remained steady, but the Kosdaq dropped 0.32%, marking its sixth consecutive day of losses. The Hang Seng fell around 1% in the final hour of trading.
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino stated that the bank would continue raising interest rates if inflation remains high, despite recent market volatility. He emphasized that the BOJ is closely monitoring the markets and may adjust monetary policy as needed.
In Australia, inflation dropped to 3.5% in July, the lowest in four months, due to electricity discounts. However, other prices didn’t fall as expected, lowering expectations for an immediate rate cut.
In New Zealand, employment fell for the fourth consecutive month in July, the largest decline since 2009. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%. The slowdown is attributed to high interest rates and a weakened economy, with forecasts of a new recession.
European markets are trading higher with insurance stocks in positive territory, while mining stocks are declining. The Stoxx 600 closed slightly higher on Tuesday, boosted by good news from the travel sector and a slight increase in French consumer confidence in August.
Lego reported a 13% increase in revenue in the first half of the year, reaching around $4.65 billion. Despite a decline in toy industry sales due to inflation, Lego stood out with volume growth, driven mainly by new products and partnerships, such as with Fortnite. The company is also expanding in China and enhancing its sustainable practices.
U.S. stocks showed little direction on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones rising just 9.98 points, closing at 41,250.50, a new record. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted gains of 0.16%, closing at 5,625.80 and 17,754.82, respectively. Investors were cautious ahead of Nvidia’s earnings and the July personal income report. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose 1.5%, while consumer confidence surprised with an increase to 103.3 in August, defying expectations of a decline.
According to minutes released on Tuesday, the boards of directors of the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago and New York supported in July a 0.25 percentage point cut in the discount rate to 5.25%. Most of the 12 regional banks preferred to keep the rate at 5.5%. The minutes suggest that a rate cut could occur at the September meeting.
On the earnings front, companies reporting before the market opens include Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF), Chewy (NYSE:CHWY), Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI), Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS), Foot Locker (NYSE:FL), Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI), Donaldson (NYSE:DCI), Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY), Golden Ocean (NASDAQ:GOGL), e The J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE:SJM), among others.
After the close, numbers are expected from NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD), Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM), Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA), Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG), Veeva Systems (NYSE:VEEV), Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE), HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ), e NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP), among others.