U.S. stock futures fell Wednesday as investors awaited chipmaker Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings report, which is seen as crucial to keeping confidence high in the broader market.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) were little changed after the blue-chip benchmark managed to secure a second straight record close. Futures on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were also largely flat.
Stocks are caught trading cautiously ahead of Nvidia’s second-quarter results after the bell on Wednesday. The AI ​​giant’s $3.2 trillion report will serve as a litmus test for AI spending and the tech sector, and could impact the market as a whole.
Traders are expecting a nearly 10% swing in the chipmaker’s shares in either direction, depending on whether hopes for another quarter with a bang come to fruition. Wall Street is predicting Nvidia’s profits will grow by about 109% and revenue by 99% year over year. Updates on potential delays for Nvidia’s new Blackwell chip will get particular attention.
Shares of Nvidia have risen about 160% so far this year. The stock was little changed in premarket Wednesday after a shaky start to the week.
Elsewhere in the tech sector, Apple (AAPL) made a rare cut of 100 jobs at its digital services group, a day after the iPhone maker announced it would replace its long-serving CFO.
While Nvidia is the star of the earnings chart, all eyes will be on Salesforce’s (CRM) results to shed light on whether software companies are starting to see a return on their AI investments. Meanwhile, CrowdStrike’s (CRWD) report should provide insight into the cost of the fallout from the global Windows outage in July.
