Stock market today: Wall Street set to open higher as market focus turns from Nvidia to US economy

Wall Street was poised to open with gains as markets shifted their focus toward upcoming data on the U.S. economy after Nvidia reported its financial results.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% before the bell, while futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each gained 0.2%.

Nvidia, one of several companies that have benefitted from the frenzy over artificial intelligence, reported earnings Wednesday after the bell. The results showed strong profit and revenue growth, but Nvidia shares were down 3.2% by early morning, though they’re still up close to 150% in 2024.

With a total market value topping $3 trillion, Nvidia is one of the most influential stocks on Wall Street and considered a bellwether for the broader AI industry.

Other companies making moves in the premarket were software company CrowdStrike and discount retail chain Dollar General.

CrowdStrike dipped less than 1% after it reported better-than-expected sales and profit during its most recent quarter, during which a botched software update triggered a technology meltdown that stranded thousands of people in airports, among other disruptions.

Dollar General tumbled nearly 25% after it missed sales and profit targets and cut its earnings-per-share guidance by more than a dollar.

The news was better for Best Buy. The nation’s largest consumer electronics chain’s shares jumped 6.8% after it beat Wall Street forecasts, even as sales slipped and it cut guidance.

On the economic front, Thursday brings jobless claims data and an updated estimate on second-quarter GDP. Investors are also looking ahead to Friday when the U.S. government releases its July data on inflation with the PCE, or personal consumption and expenditures report.

Economists expect the PCE, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, to show that inflation edged up to 2.6% in July from 2.5% in June. It was as high as 7.1% in the middle of 2022. The rate of inflation has been easing steadily back toward the central bank’s target of 2% since then, following the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes.

Wall Street and the Fed are trying to gauge the resiliency of U.S. consumers amid the squeeze from inflation and high borrowing rates. The central bank is expected to begin trimming its benchmark interest rate back from a two-decade high at its next meeting in September.

In Europe at midday, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, while France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX each jumped 0.7%.

Markets were mostly lower in Asia. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped less than 0.1% while South Korea’s Kospi dipped 1.0%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.5%.

Sentiment remained cautious even after the White House said Beijing and Washington will plan for a phone call in the coming weeks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden.

The White House statement said both sides would keep lines of communication open. Worries have grown lately about tensions over Taiwan.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 40 cents to $74.92 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 30 cents to $77.88 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 144.66 Japanese yen from 144.44 yen. The euro cost $1.1100, down from $1.1122.

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