Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures (US100:IND) climbed +1.7% after hours on Wednesday, helped by a post-earnings jump in the world’s largest company, Nvidia (NVDA).
Benchmark S&P 500 futures (SPX) also rose, +1.1%, while Dow futures (INDU) added +0.3%.
Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) advanced +6.2% in postmarket trading after the chipmaker delivered an earnings beat. Top boss Jensen Huang said sales of its artificial intelligence (AI) chip Blackwell were “off the charts” and that cloud GPUs were “sold out.”
“Nvidia just crushes it again. Love it,” Ross Gerber, co-founder of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, said on X.
The stellar results come at a time when the AI trade was facing a make-or-break moment. Tech and AI stocks were taking it on the chin coming into Nvidia’s (NVDA) report, as investors fretted about overstretched valuations and unsustainable capital spending goals.
“Nvidia’s quarterly earnings results are stronger than expected, including a revenue beat. Its outlook is also strong, noting favorable shifts in both the level and composition of demand. Collectively, this reinforces the AI optimism that extends to the broader promise of productivity and growth,” Mohamed El-Erian, former CEO of PIMCO, said on X.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) was another notable earnings-related mover after hours, slipping -2.6%. The cybersecurity company provided in-line current quarter revenue guidance and said it was shelling out $3.35B to acquire Chronosphere, an observability platform.
Wall Street had earlier closed out a topsy-turvy session with gains. Here are some exchange-traded funds that track the benchmark S&P 500 index (SP500): (SPY), (VOO), (IVV), (RSP), (SSO), (UPRO), (SH), (SDS), and (SPXU).