U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday, suggesting equities may build on the strong rebound recorded in the previous trading session.
Momentum is expected to remain concentrated in technology stocks, as investors position ahead of earnings from artificial intelligence chip leader Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).
Nvidia, scheduled to publish its fourth-quarter results after the market close, was up 0.8% in premarket trading.
Software companies Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) are also due to release quarterly results later in the day, keeping market attention firmly on the tech sector.
Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) may add further support after Oppenheimer upgraded the stock to Outperform from Perform, helping lift shares by 2.4% in premarket activity.
Trading volumes could remain relatively light, however, as the absence of major U.S. economic releases may prompt some investors to stay cautious.
Following Monday’s selloff, equities rebounded strongly on Tuesday, with all three major benchmarks posting notable gains led by technology stocks.
The Nasdaq advanced 236.41 points, or 1.0%, to close at 22,863.68. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 370.44 points, or 0.8%, ending at 49,174.50, while the S&P 500 rose 52.32 points, or 0.8%, to 6,890.07.
Part of the rally appeared driven by bargain hunting, as traders stepped in to buy stocks after the sharp decline earlier in the week.
On Monday, the Dow had fallen to its lowest closing level in a month amid renewed uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Semiconductor shares led Tuesday’s recovery, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbing 1.5% to a record closing high.
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) stood out with an 8.8% surge after announcing a 6-gigawatt agreement to power Meta’s (NASDAQ:META) next generation of artificial intelligence infrastructure using multiple generations of AMD Instinct GPUs.
Networking stocks also showed strength, reflected by a 1.5% rise in the NYSE Arca Networking Index.
Oil services, gold miners, airlines and software stocks also posted solid gains, joining most major sectors in moving higher.
On the economic front, data from the Conference Board showed U.S. consumer confidence improved in February.
The organization reported its consumer confidence index rose to 91.2 from a revised 89.0 in January. Economists had expected a reading of 88.0 compared with the originally reported 84.5.
“Confidence ticked up in February after falling in January, as consumers’ pessimistic expectations for the future eased somewhat,” said Dana M Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board.
“Four of five components of the Index firmed,” she added. “Nonetheless, the measure remained well below the four-year peak achieved in November 2024 (112.8).”
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