Futures rose on Wednesday as recent earnings reports highlighted strong demand for artificial intelligence and related expenditures. SpaceX revealed higher-than-anticipated AI investments, overshadowing its overall positive results, while Nvidia Corp. experienced a surge after Elon Musk lauded its computing projects.
S&P 500 futures were 0.4% higher as of 7:52 a.m. in New York, and Nasdaq 100 contracts remained stable. If these pre-market increases continue throughout the day, the S&P 500 Index is on track to close at a new record for the second consecutive day. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3%, hovering around $76 per barrel, following President Donald Trump’s comments in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, stating that discussions with Iran were “progressing positively.”
“The evidence continues to support a bullish outlook,” stated Keith Lerner, Chief Investment Officer at Truist Advisory Services, in a note. “Earnings are our guiding light, the economy remains strong, market participation is growing, and most valuation excesses have been addressed.”
Later today, watch for earnings reports from memory chipmakers Sandisk and Western Digital, both of which have significantly boosted the gains of the benchmark index this year.
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SpaceX shares were down 11% in pre-market trading as investors analyzed the results and considered the imminent share unlock. The options market anticipated that SpaceX stock would behave like a meme stock post-earnings, moving over 14% in either direction.
“The company has a significant impact across the entire economy,” remarked Greg Halter, Research Director at Carnegie Investment Counsel. He highlighted SpaceX’s data centers alongside its space projects and rocket launches.
Later on Wednesday, Sandisk is expected to report soaring profits and an optimistic outlook, bolstered by commitments from major tech firms like Amazon.com and Microsoft Corp, who vowed to continue extensive spending on AI computing infrastructure. The stock has been notably volatile, emerging as the top performer in the S&P 500 this year with an impressive 501% increase through Tuesday’s closing.
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In other earnings updates, Advanced Micro Devices saw a decline after releasing a disappointing sales forecast.
Among the 372 S&P 500 companies that reported through Tuesday, 87% exceeded analysts’ earnings-per-share predictions, while 69% surpassed sales expectations.
In tech news, Yann LeCun, former chief AI scientist at Meta Platforms Inc., is joining a new venture capital firm to invest in AI startups.
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