U.S. stock index futures slipped slightly lower Wednesday, with investors’ focus squarely on earnings from artificial intelligence major Nvidia.
At 05:45 ET (09:45 GMT), Dow Jones Futures fell 100 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 Futures slipped 12 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 50 points, or 0.2%.
The main Wall Street indices posted strong gains on Tuesday, after Trump’s delaying of 50% tariffs against the EU boosted risk appetite. Sentiment was also boosted by substantially stronger than expected consumer confidence data for May, which rebounded after five months of declines.
The S&P 500 rose 2.1%, the NASDAQ Composite surged 2.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.8%.
Nvidia earnings awaited for more AI cues Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is set to report its first-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday, with analysts expecting a strong print.
Nvidia is forecast to post earnings per share of $0.893 on revenue of $43.12 billion for the three months to April 30, both up substantially from last year, according to Investing.com data.
The chipmaker is expected to have benefited from outsized domestic demand, especially as its biggest customers– Wall Street’s so-called AI hyperscalers– continued spending billions on building more data center capacity.
That said, the focus will be on Nvidia’s outlook, which is likely to set the tone for the tech industry going forward in 2025. Investors will also be watching for comments on Nvidia’s China sales, as the company grapples with more U.S. export controls and increased competition in the country.
CEO Jensen Huang recently criticized the U.S. export restrictions, calling them a "failure," and also forecast China becoming a $50 billion market in the coming years.
There are also earnings due from the likes of Macy’s (NYSE:M), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) and Dick’s Sporting Goods (F:DKS).
Elsewhere, Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) stock plunged premarket after the identity management software company kept its guidance due to macroeconomic uncertainty.
Fed minutes due Investors will also keep an eye on the minutes from the May Fed meeting, due later in the session, for clues of future monetary policy amid a period of economic uncertainty.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari on Tuesday called for keeping interest rates steady until there is more clarity on how higher tariffs affect inflation, warning against "looking through" the impact of such supply price shocks.
The shock to the economy from President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, and uncertainty over U.S. trade policy, are forcing central banks to decide whether to focus on fighting inflation or supporting economic activity, he said.
Crude gains on supply concerns Oil prices edged higher Wednesday, as concerns over potential new sanctions on Russia raised supply disruption fears, although trading ranges are tight ahead of a pivotal OPEC+ meeting later this week.
At 05:45 ET, Brent futures climbed 0.7% to $64.03 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.8% to $61.39 a barrel.
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, collectively known as OPEC+, are weighing the possibility of another production boost at their upcoming meeting this weekend.
OPEC+ has been in the process of unwinding output cuts, announcing additions to the market in May and June.
As investors prepare for this increased supply, they also digested comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “playing with fire”, and Trump is considering new sanctions against Russia.
This could put Russian energy flows at risk and disrupt the global oil supply.
