Mixed Earnings News May Lead To Choppy Trading On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Thursday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction after moving notably higher over the two previous sessions.

A mixed reaction to earnings news from Dow components Nvidia (NVDA) and Salesforce (CRM) may lead to choppy trading on Wall Street.

Shares of Nvidia are jumping by 1.0 percent in pre-market trading after the AI leader reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results and provided upbeat guidance.

“Despite markets already pricing in extraordinary year-on-year growth, Nvidia projected revenue for the next quarter well above consensus estimates,” said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.

She added, “The results reset a narrative that had begun to tilt overly bearish in recent sessions, where concerns around overspending, diminishing returns and intensifying competition had weighed on valuations.”

Meanwhile, shares of Salesforce are slumping by 1.7 percent in pre-market trading after the customer service software maker reported better than expected fourth quarter results but provided disappointing guidance.

Stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday, adding to the strong gains posted in the previous session. With the continued advance, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 more than offset the steep losses posted on Monday.

The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq jumped 288.40 points or 1.3 percent to 23,152.08, the S&P 500 climbed 56.06 points or 0.8 percent to 6,946.13 and the Dow rose 307.65 points or 0.6 percent to 49,482.15.

The continued strength on Wall Street partly reflected optimism ahead of the release of earnings news from Nvidia after the close of trading, with the chipmaker jumping by 1.4 percent on the day.

Tech giant IBM Corp. (IBM) also surged by 3.6 percent, continuing to regain ground following a nosedive on Monday after UBS upgraded its rating on the company’s stock to Neutral from Sell.

Shares of Oracle (ORCL) also shot up by 1.2 percent after Oppenheimer upgraded its rating on the software giant’s stock to Outperform from Perform.

Software stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index spiking by 3.1 percent.

The index continued to regain ground after slumping to its lowest closing level in ten months on Monday amid easing AI disruption concerns.

Substantial strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Financial, networking and semiconductor stocks also saw significant strength, while housing stocks moved sharply lower on the day.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are tumbling $1.20 to $64.22 a barrel after slipping $0.21 to $65.42 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after climbing $49.90 to $5,226.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $40.40 to $5,185.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.08 yen versus the 156.33 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1805 compared to yesterday’s $1.1809.

Asia

Asian stocks advanced on Thursday as Nvidia’s earnings results quelled fears over massive AI spending and AI-driven disruptions.

The AI bellwether posted record fourth quarter results with total revenue of $68 billion, led by a record data-center quarter of $62 billion.

The dollar edged lower in Asian trading, while gold advanced on safe-haven demand and oil prices hovered near seven-month highs as investors waited for any news on the third round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index finished marginally lower at 4,146.63 due to persistent uncertainty over U.S. trade policy. Traders also looked ahead to the release of February PMI data due next week for direction.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped 1.4 percent to 26,381.02. Trip.com shares tumbled 3.2 percent after the travel operator reported a sharp fall in its Q4 operating margins.

Japanese markets gave up some early gains as the yen rebounded on BoJ rate hike bets following remarks by board member Hajime Takata.

The Nikkei 225 Index hit a new record high at 59,332.43 before paring gains to close up 0.3 percent at 58,753.39. The broader Topix Index settled 1 percent higher at 3,880.34.

Tech stocks ended mixed despite Nvidia delivering bumper earnings and issuing an upbeat outlook for the current quarter. SoftBank shares surged 4 percent, while Advantest dropped 1.7 percent and Tokyo Electron lost 2 percent.

Seoul stocks hit another record high as chip stocks rallied on Nvidia’s guidance, and the Bank of Korea lifted its growth forecast after holding rates steady, as widely expected.

The Kospi soared 3.7 percent to 6,307.27. Chip and auto stocks led the surge, with Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. spiking 5-8 percent.

Australian markets eked out modest gains to reach a new record, with mining, healthcare and technology stocks pacing the gainers.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.5 percent to 9,175.30, while the broader All Ordinaries Index closed up 0.5 percent at 9,408.70. Heavyweight BHP jumped 2.2 percent and Rio Tinto surged 3.7 percent on firmer copper prices.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index rallied 1.1 percent to 13,670.71, finishing at a five-week high.

Europe

European stocks have moved mostly higher on Thursday as Nvidia’s strong earnings offset uncertainty over U.S. trade policy and geopolitical risks.

Diplomats from Iran and the United States are set to meet in Geneva today for the third round of nuclear negotiations in a last-ditch effort to prevent a conflict.

While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

London Stock Exchange Group shares jumped 4 percent. The exchange operator announced plans to launch a £3bn share buyback after reporting a 56.5 percent jump in pretax profit for 2025.

Italian energy group Eni gained 1.4 percent after reporting a 35 percent rise in the fourth quarter adjusted net profit.

German sportswear maker Puma soared 6 percent after announcing it expects a narrower EBIT loss in fiscal year 2026.

Insurer Allianz declined 1.3 percent as its 2026 guidance fell short of estimates.

Reinsurer Munich Re fell 2.6 percent as it reported a larger-than-expected decline in fourth-quarter profit due to negative currency effects.

French conglomerate Bouygues rose 1.2 percent after meeting full-year earnings estimates.

Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, rallied 2.6 percent after it reported record annual revenue of €40.15 billion, supported by robust demand for data center infrastructure linked to AI expansion.

Worldline lost 3 percent. The payment services provider has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Indian business to local digital payments processor BillDesk.

Utility Engie skyrocketed 7.3 percent after it agreed to buy the U.K.’s largest power-distribution network for £10.5 billion ($14.2 billion).

U.S. Economic News

A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended February 21st.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 212,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 208,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to climb to 215,000 from the 206,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also crept up to 220,250, an increase of 750 from the previous week’s revised average of 219,500.

At 10 am ET, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is due to testify before a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs hearing on an update from the Prudential Regulators.

The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month’s auction of $44 billion worth of seven-year notes at 1 pm ET.