A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 24, 2025.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Stock futures rose Thursday as Nvidia shares advanced following better-than-expected quarterly results.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 added 0.6%. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.8%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 107 points, or 0.3%.
Nvidia rose 1.8% after the chip giant exceeded fourth-quarter estimates on the top and bottom lines. The company issued strong guidance, reflecting continued demand driven by the artificial intelligence race.
Other tech shares also rose on Thursday. Broadcom and Tesla climbed around 2.3%. each.
“Although revenue growth has decelerated, Nvidia’s 78% YoY increase remains impressive given its scale, underscoring strong demand for AI infrastructure,” said Ido Caspi, research analyst at Global X. “This robust performance should similarly alleviate investor concerns about potential slowdowns stemming from emerging competitors like DeepSeek.”
On Wednesday, stocks came off the session’s highs as investors grew concerned about President Donald Trump’s trade policies. At his first cabinet meeting, he said that duties against Canada and Mexico would take effect and that his trade war will include a 25% tariff on goods from the European Union.
The S&P 500 eked out just a 0.01% gain on Wednesday, ending its four-day streak of losses. The 30-stock Dow dropped 188 points, or about 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added nearly 0.3%. With just two trading sessions left in February, all three major averages are on pace to finish lower. The broad market index has dropped 1.4%, while the Dow and the Nasdaq have declined more than 2% each.
“Caution is warranted. The remarkable strength of equities in recent months suggests that any downside should be approached with care,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Forex.
Razaqzada added, “For the bulls, a corrective move lower wouldn’t be unwelcome, as it could present more attractive entry opportunities in the future.”
Indeed, a flurry of recent economic reports — including a softer-than-expected consumer confidence reading, disappointing retail sales numbers and a weak consumer sentiment reading — have rattled stocks and raised worries about the health of the U.S. economy.
Traders will have an eye on Thursday’s weekly jobless claims and are also looking ahead to Friday’s personal consumption expenditures price index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
