US Stocks Rise Following Nvidia's Strong Earnings

U.S. stock futures saw an upward trend on Thursday after experiencing a mixed closing on Wednesday. All four major benchmark indices showed gains during premarket trading.

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) surpassed earnings expectations, with CEO Jensen Huang announcing that the company has successfully ramped up the large-scale production of its Blackwell AI supercomputers. In addition, data center revenues reached record levels in the fourth quarter.

In the political sphere, former President Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on various goods from the European Union, including a 25% tariff on automobiles. New tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada are set to be implemented on April 2nd.

The 10-year Treasury yield was reported at 4.31%, while the two-year yield stood at 4.11%. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, there is a significant 97.5% likelihood that the Federal Reserve will maintain interest rates during the March meeting.

Futures	Change (+/-)
Nasdaq 100	0.64%
S&P 500	0.56%
Dow Jones	0.27%
Russell 2000	0.74%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices respectively, also showed positive movement in premarket trading, with SPY increasing by 0.55% to $597.80 and QQQ rising 0.60% to $517.63, based on data from Benzinga Pro.

Market Insights

During the previous trading session, sectors such as information technology, utilities, communication services, and industrials ended with gains. In contrast, consumer staples, healthcare, and real estate sectors faced declines.

The market closed on a mixed note; while the S&P 500 managed to end a three-day losing streak, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell.

On the economic front, new home sales dropped by 10.5% in January, resulting in a total of 657,000, indicating ongoing weaknesses in the housing market and a 1.1% decline year-over-year, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Salesforce Inc. (CRM) reported mixed results for its quarter, while Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) managed to exceed analyst expectations.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Nasdaq Composite	0.26%	19,075.26
S&P 500	0.014%	5,956.06
Dow Jones	-0.43%	43,433.12
Russell 2000	0.19%	2,174.17

Expert Commentary

Market strategist Ryan Detrick expressed optimism, stating, “This is still a bull market, and this seasonal weakness does not concern us significantly at this stage.” He provided various reasons backing the view for renewed stock highs:

• Strong earnings, revenue, and profit margins.
• Market resilience amid widespread economic concerns.
• A relatively new bull market offering further growth potential.
• A robust labor market with healthy wage growth.
• Expected improvements in inflation and potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
• Growing participation in the market beyond just technology stocks.

Similarly, analysts at BlackRock noted, “We are confident that U.S. equities will outperform in 2025, led by the technology sector, despite Europe showing strong performance early in the year.” They conveyed a broader risk-on view while increasing exposure to European stocks.

They also indicated that the U.S. might still regain leadership in the stock market this year, fueled by strong corporate earnings and the rise of artificial intelligence themes. However, they advised being underweight on long-term U.S. Treasuries.

After Nvidia's latest earnings report, the company was up 0.82% in premarket trading on Thursday. CNBC's Jim Cramer commented on the tight trading pattern observed, suggesting that it reflects uncertainty in valuing extraordinary earnings rather than any underlying negative factors.

Economic Data to Watch

On Thursday, investors will be focused on several economic data releases:

• Initial jobless claims data for the week ending February 22, January's durable goods orders, and GDP's second reading will be available at 8:30 a.m. ET.

• Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid is scheduled to speak at 9:15 a.m. ET.

• Pending home sales data for January will be reported at 10:00 a.m. ET.

• Fed Governor Michelle Bowman will address the public at 11:45 a.m. ET.

• Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker is set to speak at 3:15 p.m. ET.

Stocks to Monitor

• JM Smucker Co. (SJM) is anticipated to rise in value as it approaches its earnings release slated before the opening bell, with analysts predicting earnings of $2.37 per share and revenue of $2.23 billion.

• Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) noted an increase of 1.29% as expectations are high for a quarterly earnings report of 38 cents per share on revenue of $2.94 billion before the opening bell.

• Bath & Body Works Inc. (BBWI) witnessed a jump of 2.48%, with analysts projecting its fourth-quarter earnings at $2.04 per share on revenue expected to reach $2.78 billion.

• Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL) saw a 1.95% increase before its earnings release later in the day, with expectations of $2.52 per share earnings on revenue of $24.57 billion.

• HP Inc. (HPQ) was up 1.24% as analysts predict quarterly earnings of 74 cents per share on revenue of $13.36 billion, to be announced after the closing bell.

• Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) gained 0.82% following its recent report of fourth-quarter and full-year results.

• Salesforce Inc. (CRM) declined by 4.67% after reporting mixed results and a cautious outlook for fiscal year 2026.

• Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) surged 10.85% after reporting strong quarterly results that exceeded analysts' expectations.

Commodities and Global Markets

Crude oil futures experienced a rise early in the New York session, climbing by 1.01% to around $69.31 per barrel.

The spot price of gold fell by 0.95% to $2,888.58 per ounce, having reached its last record high at $2,956.37. The Dollar Index saw an increase of 0.20%, reaching a level of 106.631.

Asian markets showed mixed results on Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei 225, China's CSI 300, and Australia's ASX 200 index advancing, while South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index saw declines. In Europe, most markets traded lower.

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