(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday amid growing expectations of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts this year, while investors assessed a new wave of corporate earnings.
At 5:37 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 16 points, or 0.25%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 11.75 points, or 0.05% and Dow E-minis were up 149 points, or 0.34%.
Advanced Micro Devices dropped 5.9% in premarket trading after the chipmaker reported disappointing revenue from data center, an artificial intelligence chip segment that investors have been betting for higher growth.
AI server maker Super Micro also underwhelmed as it missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates, sending its shares plunging 16.7%. Shares of rivals Dell Technologies and HP Enterprise fell 3% and 0.9%, respectively.
Attention will be on earnings reports from Disney, Uber and McDonald’s due before the opening bell. Airbnb, DoorDash and Lyft will report after the market closes.
The damage from U.S. trade war on results of Yum Brands, Caterpillar, and Marriott as well as a series of weak economic data pushed Wall Street lower on Tuesday.
Data showed U.S. services activity unexpectedly stalled in July, with businesses saying President Donald Trump’s new tariff rates are pushing costs higher.
That followed Friday’s report, which showed weaker employment growth in July and sharp downward revisions for the previous two months – suggesting deteriorating labor market conditions that increased bets for a rate cut in September.
According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, odds for a September rate cut stand at 85.5%, up from 46.7% a week ago, while traders see at least two cuts by the end of 2025.
Trump’s tariff threats showed no signs of easing. The president on Tuesday said he would impose a “small tariff” on pharmaceutical imports before hiking it to triple-digit percentage in a year or two.
Trump also announced plans for new levies on semiconductors and chips in the “next week or so.”
Adding to the uncertainty, Trump will decide on a nominee to replace outgoing Fed Governor Adriana Kugler by the end of the week, while saying he narrowed the possible replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a short list of four.
Economies worldwide were still scrambling to strike favorable deals with Washington. Beijing’s trade truce with the U.S. is set to expire on August 12, as the world’s two largest economies move toward an agreement.
Among other movers, Arista Networks jumped 13% after the cloud networking firm forecast third-quarter revenue above analysts’ estimates.
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, Boston Fed chief Susan Collins and Fed Board Governor Lisa Cook are scheduled to speak later in the day.
(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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