NEW YORK: Wall Street was poised for a higher open on Wednesday as Nvidia inched closer to a US$5 trillion valuation, while investors awaited an expected Federal Reserve rate cut and a wave of Big Tech results.
Shares of Nvidia rose 3.3 per cent 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 jumped about 50 per cent so far this year, and been among the top boosts to US equities in 2025. Apple briefly topped US$4 trillion in market cap on Tuesday, while Microsoft trades above that level.
“Nvidia has an undeniably strong position in the AI chipset market and deals with a range of firms. Investors continue to enthuse about the AI theme and remain fascinated by the rate of spending,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
At 08.24am, Dow E-minis were up 58 points, or 0.12 per cent, S&P 500 E-minis were up 16.5 points, or 0.24 per cent and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 106.5 points, or 0.41 per cent.
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 gained 0.4 per cent, with Meta and Microsoft up over 0.3 per cent each, as they head into post-close earnings.
Market participants will seek justification for Big Tech’s towering valuations, with particular focus on whether heavy AI spending is likely to continue or not.
Meanwhile, Boeing fell nearly 1 per cent after the planemaker reported a charge of nearly US$5 billion related to delays in its 777X jet program, while Caterpillar shares rose 4.9 per cent after beating third-quarter profit expectations.
With results in from 180 of the S&P 500 companies, third-quarter earnings are estimated to have increased 10.5 per cent 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 Thursday in the port city of Busan.
Among other stock moves, Verizon rose 4 per cent after beating estimates for quarterly profit and wireless subscriber additions.
Centene Corporation posted a surprise third-quarter profit, sending shares jumping 9.7 per cent.
Seagate Technology shares rose 6.4 per cent after the company forecast second-quarter earnings above Wall Street estimates.
Peers Sandisk rose 6.4 per cent, while Western Digital gained 4.9 per cent.
Mondelez International cut its annual profit forecast on Tuesday, sending the Cadbury maker’s shares down 4.8 per cent, while Fiserv slumped 37 per cent after lowering its annual earnings forecasts for the second consecutive quarter.
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