Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Edge Higher After Record Rally: Why TSM, NVDA, HIMS, PYPL, BIRD Are Trending Premarket

•  Benchmark indices scaled fresh milestones, with the S&P 500 topping 7,000 on Wednesday.
• Easing Middle East tensions and strong tech momentum lifted retail sentiment.
• Investors are now bracing for a slate of earnings and economic data that could determine whether the momentum can be sustained.

U.S. stock futures were higher early Thursday as Wall Street looked to extend a rally that pushed the S&P 500 above the 7,000 mark and the Nasdaq past 26,000 in the previous session. Investors are monitoring easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East with a slate of top-tier earnings and macro data due today.

As of 4:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, Nasdaq futures rose 0.4%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%, and Dow and Russell 2000 futures were up 0.1%. 

Retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, has flipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ a day ago, and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, has remained ‘bullish’,  fueled by a rally in quantum computing stocks.

Trending Stocks To Watch

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSM): Nvidia's chip supplier reported a record Q1 profit jump of 58%, crushing estimates. For the second quarter, TSM expects revenue of $39 billion to $40.2 billion and a gross margin of 65.5% to 67.5%.

Nvidia (NVDA): CEO Jensen Huang downplayed the concerns on growing speculation that the bellwether’s dominance in AI compute is vulnerable to rival Google’s TPUs and Amazon’s Trainium chips or others. The stock seems on track for its 12th straight session of gains.

Hims & Hers Health (HIMS): Shares rose nearly 10% in early pre-market trade after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. indicated the FDA would reclassify 12 peptides, reducing perceived safety risks for the company’s product pipeline.

Netflix (NFLX): Trading at multi-year highs ahead of its Q1 report after it lost the race to acquire Warner Bros Discovery (WBD). Analyst focus remains on subscriber growth and ad-tier traction, which comes after Netflix raised its subscription prices for the second time last month. 

PayPal (PYPL): The stock is trending after Michael Burry expressed confidence in a recovery in the software and payments sector, suggesting the recent sell-off was overextended.

Allbirds Inc (BIRD): The stock saw a sharp reversal in early premarket trading after soaring over 500% the previous day, following its surprise pivot to an AI infrastructure play. William Blair has dropped coverage, warning the stock's explosive rally was fueled by speculative hype.

Watch out for oil stocks (XOM, CVX) in trade today. The White House will host a call with U.S. oil executives on Thursday.

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), Sofi Technologies (SOFI), and Microsoft (MSFT).

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, traders will be watching for the release of Initial Jobless Claims and Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index today.

On earnings radar, watch out for quarterly reports from PepsiCo, Travelers, U.S. Bancorp, Abbott Labs and Charles Schwab, among others, today.

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