Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Edge Higher As Trump-Xi Meeting Fuels Optimism: Why NVDA, BABA, CSCO, TSM, KLAR, CRCL Are In Focus Today

• Investors are watching Trump-Xi talks in Beijing and the market implications of Kevin Warsh taking over at the Federal Reserve. 
• Reports suggested the U.S. approved several Chinese firms, including Alibaba and Tencent, to purchase Nvidia’s H200 AI chips. 
• Cisco shares rose after a major restructuring focused on AI. 

U.S. stock futures were trending higher early Thursday, driven by a powerful tech rally the previous session that lifted both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite to fresh record highs. Investors are digesting reports of a potential thaw in U.S.-China tech restrictions and a new era at the Federal Reserve. 

On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the new Federal Reserve Chairman in a narrow 54-45 vote. Meanwhile, President Trump and a delegation of tech titans (including Jensen Huang, Elon Musk, and Tim Cook) are meeting President Xi Jinping in Beijing. While the reported H200 chip clearance is a major win for Nvidia, tensions remain high over rare-earth metal supplies and Taiwan. 

As of 4:00 a.m. ET on Thursday: S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%, Dow futures rose 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures took the lead, rising 0.5%, while Russell 2000 futures were flat.

Retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, has risen to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ territory earlier in the week, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, has moved back into ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’.

Trending Stocks To Watch

China chip breakthrough: The U.S. has reportedly cleared roughly 10 Chinese firms, including Alibaba and Tencent, to purchase Nvidia’s H200 chips, potentially unlocking $20 billion in revenue. Keep an eye out for NVDA and BABA stocks in trade today. Nvidia stock was up 2% in early premarket trade, shrugging off a short-seller report from Culper Research alleging hidden China exposure.

Tesla (TSLA) and Micron (MU): Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, and Micron's CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, traveled with President Trump’s delegation to Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping. Investors continued watching for any signs of easing U.S.-China tensions and its impact on trade and operations. 

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) shares rose 2% in early premarket trade after the company has raised its 2030 global market forecast to $1.5 trillion, citing an 11-fold projected increase in AI accelerator demand. 

Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO): Surged rose 20% in early premarket trade following a Q3 beat and a major restructuring plan to cut 4,000 jobs to pivot toward AI infrastructure. 

Klarna Group Plc (KLAR): Inching higher in pre-market trade ahead of its earnings report today.

According to SEC filings from Wednesday, BlackRock has disclosed a massive increase in its positions in IREN, AST SpaceMobile Inc. (ASTS) and Opendoor (OPEN).

Investors will also be tracking the Senate Banking Committee, which is reviewing the Clarity Act, which could allow crypto firms to pay interest on stablecoins. Watch out for CRCL, COIN in trade today. 

Chipmaker Cerebras is also set to begin trading on the Nasdaq today. 

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included EOS Energy (EOSE), Figma (FIG), Ondas Inc (ONDS), and Ford Motor Co (F).

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, investors will be tracking the release of April retail sales and initial jobless claims data at 8:30 am ET today. 

On earnings radar, watch out for quarterly reports from Yeti (YETI), Viking Holdings (VIK), among others, before the bell. And from the others, all eyes will be on Applied Materials (AMAT) that reports earnings after market close today.

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