Online Reporter
Futures climbed on yesterday as the latest batch of earnings pointed to strong demand for, and spending on, artificial intelligence. SpaceX reported higher-than-expected AI-related outlays, which overshadowed results that broadly beat forecasts, while Nvidia Corp. rallied after Elon Musk touted his computing plans.
S&P 500 futures were 0.4 percent higher as of 7:52 am in New York, while Nasdaq 100 contracts were little changed.
If pre-market gains last through the day, the S&P 500 Index will be on track to close at a record for a second day.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3 percent to trade around $76 per barrel, as President Donald Trump told reporters in Los Angeles on Tuesday night that talks with Iran were “moving along very nicely.”
“The weight of the evidence continues to support giving the bull market the benefit of the doubt,” Keith Lerner, Truist Advisory Services’ Chief Investment Officer, wrote in a note. “Earnings remain our north star, the economy continues to show resilience, market participation has broadened, and valuation excesses have largely been worked off.”
After the bell, watch for reports from memory chipmakers Sandisk and Western Digital, both big contributors to the benchmark index’s gains this year.
SpaceX shares were 11 percent lower in pre-market trading as investors evaluated results and assessed its coming share unlock. The options market had been expecting SpaceX stock to move like a meme-stock after earnings, more than 14 percent in either direction.
“The company has reverberations across the whole economy,” Carnegie Investment Counsel Research Director Greg Halter said. He cited SpaceX’s data centres in addition to its space endeavours and rocket launches.
Later on yesterday, Sandisk is expected to report soaring profit and an optimistic outlook after tech giants including Amazon.com and Microsoft Corp last week pledged to keep spending heavily on AI computing infrastructure.
The volatile stock was the best performer in the S&P 500 this year, soaring 501 percent through Tuesday’s close.
In other earnings news, Advanced Micro Devices tumbled after giving an underwhelming sales outlook.
Of the 372 S&P 500 companies to have reported so far through Tuesday, 87 percent have beaten analysts’ earnings-per-share forecasts, while 69 percent of companies have positively surprised on sales.
In other tech news, Meta Platforms Inc.’s former chief AI scientist Yann LeCun is joining a new venture firm to invest in AI startups. – Bloomberg
