U.S. equity futures moved modestly lower on Thursday as investors weighed major technology earnings and monitored geopolitical developments ahead of renewed nuclear negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials. Results from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) dominated market attention, while oil prices held steady near recent highs.
Futures drift lower
Futures tied to the main U.S. stock indices edged down as traders digested earnings from artificial intelligence leader Nvidia.
At 03:05 ET, Dow futures were down 122 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures slipped 7 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 27 points, also 0.1%. Wall Street’s major indices had finished the previous session higher as investors positioned ahead of Nvidia’s earnings announcement.
Market sentiment improved on Wednesday amid renewed optimism around artificial intelligence, marking another shift in what has been a volatile debate over the technology’s economic impact. The Nasdaq outperformed, reflecting expectations that AI investment could ultimately deliver widespread productivity gains, contrasting with earlier concerns that new AI models might disrupt software firms and limit returns on heavy data-centre spending.
Remarks from Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin also supported equities. Barkin said it remains unclear whether automation will trigger broad job losses and suggested AI could instead enhance labour market efficiency.
Nvidia muted despite earnings beat
Nvidia reported quarterly earnings above expectations for the January period and issued revenue guidance that also exceeded forecasts, though its shares showed little momentum in after-hours trading.
Some investors raised concerns about shareholder returns despite strong cash generation. Yvette Schmitter, CEO of IT consulting firm Fusion Collective, noted that Nvidia generated $35 billion in cash during the fourth quarter but returned only 12% to shareholders, down from 52% a year earlier.
Schmitter added that “this is happening at the same time Nvidia is claiming” that its sold-out Ampere chips are a “good signal for demand.”
“[W]hy is the company with record cash generation cutting buybacks by half?” Schmitter said.
The topic also surfaced during Nvidia’s earnings call when a UBS analyst asked whether the company intended to distribute part of the roughly $100 billion in cash expected this year. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said Nvidia plans to continue investing across the broader AI ecosystem, while Chief Executive Jensen Huang argued that AI-generated output will underpin the next era of computing.
Salesforce drops on cautious outlook
Shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) declined sharply in extended trading after the cloud software company issued a revenue forecast that fell short of Wall Street expectations.
The company projected fiscal 2027 revenue of $45.80 billion to $46.20 billion, slightly below the consensus midpoint estimate of $46.06 billion, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. The guidance suggested enterprise software demand may be softening as businesses rein in spending amid economic uncertainty.
At the same time, Salesforce continues to ramp up investment in artificial intelligence capabilities to counter investor concerns that emerging AI models, including those developed by startup Anthropic, could weaken demand for traditional software services. These worries have contributed to share-price volatility in early 2026 as the company seeks to address what some view as an existential challenge to the software-as-a-service sector.
Despite the softer near-term outlook, Salesforce raised its fiscal 2030 revenue target to $63 billion from $60 billion previously, citing expected growth from so-called agentic AI.
“[T]his is not a perfect report, but it should cross the ’good enough’ threshold, with the company’s AI products showing rapid growth (albeit off a very small base) while core business holds in well (in terms of margins and growth) and cash flow generation stays healthy,” analysts at Vital Knowledge said in a note.
Oil steady ahead of nuclear negotiations
Oil prices were broadly unchanged Thursday, remaining close to seven-month highs as markets awaited the third round of nuclear discussions between Washington and Tehran later in the day.
Brent crude futures gained 0.2% to $70.84 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 0.2% to $65.62.
U.S. officials, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, are expected to meet Iranian representatives in Geneva as Washington pushes for progress toward an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme.
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that “bad things” could happen if meaningful progress is not achieved, raising concerns that prolonged tensions could disrupt Iranian oil exports, with Iran ranking as the third-largest crude producer within OPEC.
Gold edges higher
Gold prices moved modestly higher as uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade tariffs supported safe-haven demand, while investors also awaited developments from the U.S.-Iran talks.
Spot gold rose 0.6% to $5,196.55 an ounce at 01:40 ET (06:40 GMT), while U.S. gold futures slipped 0.5% to $5,200.54 per ounce.
Alongside geopolitical developments, traders are assessing the impact of newly announced U.S. tariffs following a recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down President Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs.
Markets are also awaiting key U.S. economic releases later in the session, including weekly jobless claims data. So far this year, bullion has remained supported by ongoing geopolitical tensions, central bank buying and portfolio diversification flows.
