Wall Street futures rise as Nvidia eyes US$5tril market cap
US stock index futures ticked higher today, with Nvidia on track to become the first company to surpass US$5 trillion in market value, while investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) rate decision and results from Big Tech firms.
Shares of Nvidia rose 3.7% in premarket trading after CEO Jensen Huang announced US$500 billion in AI chip orders and plans to build seven supercomputers for the US government.
The stock has risen about 50% so far this year, and has been among the top boosts to US equities in 2025.
Apple briefly topped US$4 trillion in market cap yesterday, while Microsoft trades above that level.
At 7.15am, Dow E-minis were up 61 points, or 0.13%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 17.5 points, or 0.25%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 110.5 points, or 0.42%.
The three major indexes have hit a series of record highs in recent days, driven by optimism around artificial intelligence, positive earnings momentum and expectations of rate cuts from the US central bank.
Alphabet and Microsoft rose 0.3% each, while Meta was marginally up.
The companies are set to report their quarterly results after markets close and investors will closely scrutinise any AI-related updates to justify 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.
Caterpillar shares rose 4.3% after beating third-quarter (Q3) profit expectations.
With results in from 180 of the S&P 500 companies, Q3 earnings are estimated to have increased 10.5% from the year-ago period, above earlier estimates for the quarter, according to data compiled by LSEG as of Tuesday.
Fed outlook, trade deals eyed
The Fed is widely expected to trim rates by a quarter of a percentage point later in the day.
After nearly a month of a US government shutdown that has kept key economic data under wraps, investors will hunt for clues on the Fed’s rate path after leaning on private surveys and corporate announcements to fill the void.
Investors will also keep an eye on any plans to end the central bank’s “quantitative tightening” policy – a long-running effort to shrink its balance sheet.
Traders expect another quarter-point cut in December.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump began the final leg of his Asia trip, saying he had reached a deal with South Korea and was optimistic about an agreement with China’s Xi Jinping.
Talks between the two counterparts are set for tomorrow in the port city of Busan.
Among other stock moves, Centene Corporation posted a surprise Q3 profit, sending shares jumping 9.7%.
Seagate Technology shares rose 6.5% after the company forecast second-quarter earnings above Wall Street estimates.
Teradyne jumped 21.9% after forecasting fourth-quarter revenue above expectations and named a new CEO.
Mondelez International cut its annual profit forecast yesterday, sending the Cadbury maker’s shares down 5.7%.
