Stocks nudged higher in the early going on Wednesday, as investors digested AI chipmaker Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings ahead of a holiday trading break.
Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) moved up around 0.3%, while S&P 500 (^GSPC) futures rose roughly 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) futures wavered around the flatline after the gauges hit pause on their November rally.
Nvidia crushed Wall Street expectations in its much-anticipated quarterly earnings, though the response was somewhat muted as the company noted US curbs on chip exports to China would weigh on results. Its shares initially dipped after the report, but were up about 1% in choppy premarket trading.
AI drama kept its grip on the market when, in a stunning reversal, OpenAI said Sam Altman will return as its CEO just days after he was ousted. The ChatGPT maker is also bringing in new board members, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, as it tries to quell a staff mutiny.
The decision is seen as a significant win for key OpenAI backer Microsoft (MSFT), which campaigned to reverse Altman’s firing. The tech giant’s stock ticked less than 1% higher after the move.
In individual stocks, shares of Deere (DE) fell 6% early Wednesday morning in the wake of a downbeat profit forecast from the farm equipment giant. Its warning that high borrowing costs would pinch demand echoed a common theme in retailers’ results.
Reports on weekly jobless claims and consumer sentiment are on the economic docket, after Tuesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last rate-setting meeting failed to move the needle in the debate about policymakers’ next move on interest rates.
That said, trading could be muted as investors wind down for the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday, when markets will be closed, followed by a shortened session on Friday.
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