Stock futures edged higher as investors parsed the all-important earnings release from artificial intelligence darling Nvidia.
Nasdaq-100 futures added 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 153 points, or about 0.3%.
Nvidia reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and issued strong guidance. The stock initially fell around 3% as the chipmaker’s revenue growth slowed from previous quarters. Investors may have also anticipated a stronger quarter given the enthusiasm around the stock this year. That said, shares were last down less than 1%, helping futures.
The move “tells you how much the expectations game on Nvidia has been ramped up,” Aswath Damodaran, finance professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” “They don’t just have to beat analyst estimates; they got to beat them by 10%.”
Nvidia shares are up 194% for the year through Wednesday’s close.
On the other hand, Snowflake jumped more than 21% after the data analytics software company beat expectations for the third quarter.
Bitcoin crossed the $98,000 level for the first time on Thursday as investors maintained their hopes that a second Donald Trump presidency will bring in supportive regulation for the industry.
That action follows a mixed day on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 ending near flat. The Dow jumped nearly 140 points, while the Nasdaq Composite ticked down 0.1%.
Traders will watch Thursday for economic data on jobless claims and existing home sales. Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid are also expected to give remarks throughout the day.
On the corporate earnings front, investors will parse reports from Gap and Intuit expected after the market closes.
