(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
*
Futures: Dow down 0.28%, S&P 500 up 0.1%, Nasdaq up 0.27%
Oct 29 (Reuters) - S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures ticked
higher on Wednesday, with Nvidia ( NVDA ) poised to surpass $5 trillion
in market value ahead of results from three "Magnificent Seven"
companies and the Federal Reserve widely expected to cut
interest rates.
Shares of the world's most valuable company climbed
3% in premarket trading after CEO Jensen Huang unveiled $500
billion in AI chip bookings and plans to build seven
supercomputers for the U.S. government.
Its gains are set to extend market gains a day after the
three major indexes hit record highs.
At 05:27 a.m., Dow e-minis were down 134 points, or
0.28%, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 6.75 points, or
0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 69.5 points, or
0.27%.
Alphabet rose 0.6%, Meta and Microsoft ( MSFT )
rose 0.3% each. The companies are set to report their
quarterly results after markets close.
With expectations running high, market participants say
earnings beats alone may not be enough to steer markets upward.
Investors want clarity on whether heavy AI spending still
supports long-term growth and justifies lofty valuations.
"The commentary provided by executives will critically frame
how far and how confidently the market can chase the AI story
into 2026," said Kate Leaman, chief market analyst at AvaTrade.
Industry heavyweights such as Boeing ( BA ) and Caterpillar ( CAT )
are due to report before the opening bell. Their shares
were down 0.2% each.
With results in from 180 of the S&P 500 companies,
third-quarter earnings are estimated to have increased 10.5%
from the year-ago period, above earlier estimates for the
quarter, according to LSEG data as of Tuesday.
FED OUTLOOK, US-CHINA TRADE DEAL EYED
At 2:00 p.m. ET, the Fed is expected to trim rates by a
quarter of a percentage point, steering the economy with a thin
data deck.
After nearly a month of a government shutdown that has kept
key economic data under wraps, investors are desperate for clues
on where rates are headed and are forced to lean on private
surveys and corporate announcements to fill the void.
After Wednesday's likely rate cut, traders expect another
move of the same size in December.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump began the final leg
of his Asia trip in South Korea, optimistic about striking a
trade war truce with China's Xi Jinping. Talks between the two
counterparts are set for Thursday in the port city of Busan.
Among other stock moves, Teradyne ( TER ) jumped 20.4%
after it forecast fourth-quarter revenue above expectations and
named a new chief financial officer.
Mondelez International ( MDLZ ) cut its annual profit
forecast on Tuesday, sending the Cadbury maker's shares down
5.3%.