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Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares cross $1,000 mark premarket after results
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DuPont ( DD ) gains on plans of three-way split
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Live Nation tumbles on report of DOJ action
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Futures up: Dow 0.20%, S&P 0.72%, Nasdaq 1.19%
(Updated at 8:40 a.m. ET)
By Ankika Biswas and Lisa Pauline Mattackal
May 23 (Reuters) - The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the
benchmark S&P 500 were poised to open higher on Thursday, driven
by a rally in chip stocks after Nvidia's ( NVDA ) upbeat revenue forecast
cemented investor optimism around the meteoric rise of
artificial intelligence technology.
The AI chip leader's stock jumped 6.9% in premarket
trading, on track to open above the $1,000 mark for the first
time ever and add about $165 billion in market value if gains
hold.
The semiconductor bellwether also announced a stock split,
following an over 90% surge in its shares this year and a
threefold jump in 2023 that have made Nvidia ( NVDA ) the third-most
valuable U.S. stock.
The response to Nvidia's ( NVDA ) widely anticipated results
contrasts the muted, range-bound trading on Wall Street in the
days leading up to the release, underscoring the company's
growing significance.
Its results boosted other chip stocks as well, with Advanced
Micro Devices ( AMD ), Micron Technology ( MU ), Broadcom ( AVGO )
and Arm Holdings advancing between 2.5% and
4.7%.
AI-related stocks such as Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ),
C3.ai ( AI ), Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ) and SoundHound AI ( SOUN )
also gained between 1.7% and 6.2%.
"When (Nvidia ( NVDA )) results beat, bang, money is straight back on
the table, but it's all a momentum trade," said Marc Ostwald,
chief economist and global strategist at ADM Investor Services
International.
"With so much uncertainty elsewhere, investors are being
cautious and just sticking to what I would call 'flipping the
market.' Short term trades, short term perspective."
Wall Street's main indexes closed lower on Wednesday as
investors digested minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest
policy meeting. Rate-setters indicated they still had faith
price pressures would ease at least slowly in coming months, but
doubts emerged about whether the current level of interest rates
was high enough to ensure that outcome.
Traders currently expect the U.S. central bank to reduce its
interest rates by nearly 40 basis points by year-end.
Markets are also eyeing economic data scheduled through the
day including S&P Global flash PMIs and housing figures.
Fresh data showed the number of Americans filing new claims
for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to underlying
strength in the labor market. Initial jobless claims dropped to
a seasonally adjusted 215,000 for the week ended May 18,
compared with expectations of 220,000.
At 8:40 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 81 points, or
0.2%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 38.5 points, or 0.72%, and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 223 points, or 1.19%.
The CBOE Volatility Index, also known as Wall
Street's "fear gauge", hit its lowest levels since November
2019.
Among other premarket movers, data cloud analytics firm
Snowflake advanced 4.6% after forecasting
second-quarter product revenue above estimates and raising its
annual expectations.
DuPont ( DD ) climbed 5.6% on the U.S. conglomerate's plans
to split into three publicly traded companies.
U.S.-listed shares of Taiwanese contract chipmaker TSMC
rose 3.2% after forecasting an annual revenue growth of
10% in the global semiconductor industry, excluding memory
chips.
Shares of Ticketmaster owner Live Nation dropped
6.2% after a report that the U.S. Department of Justice could
seek a break-up of the company to combat its domination of
concert ticket sales.