S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq Futures Rangebound as Investors Await Nvidia Earnings, Key Inflation Data; Moderna, SpaceX, Paramount Skydance, OpenAI in Focus
Wall Street ended Tuesday on a firmer note, with cooling oil prices and a pullback in Treasury yields giving investors some breathing room ahead of Nvidia's quarterly report and the latest inflation data.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.6%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%. The small-cap Russell 2000 also advanced 0.5%.
Futures pointed to a cautious start Wednesday. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures and S&P 500 futures were little changed, while Nasdaq-100 futures rose nearly 0.1%.
Among benchmark ETFs, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) fell 0.3% and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ended down 1%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) was up 0.3%. Semiconductor names bounced back, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) and iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) each advancing about 1.7% to reclaim most of the previous session's losses. Gains in Micron (MU) and Nvidia (NVDA) helped lift the broader Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) by 0.9%.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for QQQ, SPY and DIA was "bearish" with "high" message volumes.
Sentiment improved after reports that the U.S. would redeploy diplomats to its embassies in the Middle East, easing fears of a broader regional conflict. Crude oil also retreated, taking some pressure off inflation worries and providing a tailwind for Treasuries. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield fell more than seven basis points to around 4.63%, while Brent crude settled below $90 a barrel as traders assessed the potential for renewed energy transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Attention is now centered on the semiconductor sector, with Nvidia (NVDA) and Marvell Technology (MRVL) both scheduled to report quarterly results. Analysts expect Nvidia to post revenue of $92.2 billion for the July quarter, nearly double the same period a year ago, with earnings of $2.09 per share.
"Nvidia is operating on all cylinders, and they're doing absolutely everything correctly at this point," Mark Malek at Siebert Financial told Bloomberg. "We're anticipating good news here, but so is everybody."
Investors were also tracking the July personal consumption expenditures price index, due Wednesday.
In corporate news:
Moderna (MRNA): Shares advanced as Wolfe Research published a $9.2 billion peak sales estimate for the company's cancer vaccine program, adding to renewed optimism around the pipeline.
Paramount Skydance Corp. (PSKY): Potential buyers and Wall Street intermediaries are actively assessing valuable entertainment properties that could be unloaded as the company navigates prolonged antitrust litigation tied to its proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (WBD).
SpaceX (SPCX): The company said its Falcon 9 rocket completed its final planned Starlink mission from Florida and plans to invest $100 billion to build what it calls the world's largest launch facility.
Lululemon Athletica (LULU): UBS expects the athleisure retailer to reduce its full-year 2026 earnings guidance again.
OpenAI: The company's Jalapeno chips performed better than Nvidia's current lineup during testing, according to SemiAnalysis.
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Shashank Nayar has no position in any of the stocks mentioned in this article. Stocktwits' news team content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. For more, see our editorial policy. This article was originally published on StockTwits.