S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Waver As Traders Brace For Nvidia Earnings, Economic Data

U.S. stock futures were marginally higher early Wednesday as traders wait for some key economic data and earnings reports from market heavyweight Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) and a few retailers.

The market would bide its time to review the artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant’s quarterly results, which would have implications for other AI stocks as well. An ongoing Stocktwits poll found that a majority of respondents expected the company’s second-quarter results for fiscal year 2026 to exceed expectations and the stock to rise in response. 

As of 3:10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the Dow, Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures were up about 0.05%, while the Russell 2000 futures traded down 0.08%.

The market reversed course on Tuesday as stocks launched into a rally in the afternoon session, capitalizing on bets for a rate cut. This is despite Tuesday’s data coming in stronger than expected. Nvidia rose over 1% in the run-up to the company’s earnings report.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the S&P 500 Index, gained 0.42%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 0.40%. Meanwhile, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) advanced 0.31% and 0.83%, respectively.

Among the Main Street catalysts for the session are the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ initial jobless claims report for the week ended Aug. 23, the advance second-quarter GDP report, and the National Association of Realtors’ pending home sales report for July.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller is scheduled to speak after the market closes.

Aside from Nvidia, other notable names reporting on Wednesday include Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Donaldson (DCI), J.M. Smucker, Inc. (SJM), Kohl’s (KSS), Williams-Sonoma (WSM), Bill.com (BILL), CrowdStrike (CRWD). Five Below (FIVE), Guess? (GES), NetApp (NTAP), Nutanix (NTNX), Pure Storage (PSTG), Snowflake (SNOW), Trip.com Group (TCOM), Urban Outfitters (URBN), and HP (HPQ).

Crude oil futures extended their slide early Wednesday, and gold futures edged down below the $3,430 an ounce level.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield rose 1.9 points to 4.275%, and the U.S. dollar firmed up against most major currencies. 

The Asian markets were mixed, with the Chinese, Hong Kong, and New Zealand markets retreating, while most other major markets ended in the green. 

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