Dow Jones futures rose slightly early Thursday, while S&P 500 futures edged higher and Nasdaq futures were roughly flat. Nvidia declined modestly overnight on earnings, a key report for AI-related stocks.
CrowdStrike, Snowflake, Veeva Systems, Five Below and Urban Outfitters were other notable earnings movers overnight.
The stock market rally crept higher Wednesday heading into Nvidia's results. The S&P 500 set a new high while small caps led again. ELF Beauty broke out.
Broadcom stock and Nvidia are on Leaderboard and the IBD Big Cap 20. Nvidia stock is on the IBD 50 and IBD Sector Leaders.
The video embedded in the article reviews Wednesday market action and analyzes ELF stock, Netflix and Charles Schwab. It also checks in on Nvidia stock and other after-hours earnings movers.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures rose 0.2% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures edged higher. Nasdaq 100 futures were about flat, erasing overnight losses. Nvidia is a Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 titan.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
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Nvidia Earnings
Nvidia earnings beat views, though data center revenue may have missed some forecasts. The AI chip giant guided higher for current-quarter revenue, but only slightly. That guidance excluded any China chip revenue.
Nvidia also announced a $60 billion buyback.
Nvidia stock fell just over 1% in premarket trade. Shares dipped 0.1% in Wednesday's regular session. NVDA stock has paused near highs for the past two weeks, rebounding recently from a quick test of the 10-week line.
Broadcom turned fractionally higher Thursday morning.
Advanced Micro Devices edged lower and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing fell slightly before the open. Taiwan Semiconductor stock has a 248.28 flat-base buy point, but closed right at a steep trendline entry.
Taiwan Semi makes Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom chips. Broadcom reports earnings next week.
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Other Key Earnings
CrowdStrike, Snowflake, Veeva Systems, Five Below, Urban Outfitters reported late, along with data storage plays NetApp, Pure Storage and Nutanix. Dollar General and Ollie's Bargain Outlet reported before the open.
Snowflake stock, Dollar General, Ollie's and Pure Storage are big winners before the open, with Five Below rising solidly. DG stock is set to gap out of a range to a 2025 high, with OLLI set to rebound from a key level to a record high. FIVE stock closed just out of a buy zone.
Urban Outfitters, NetApp and Nutanix were solid losers, with Veeva and CrowdStrike stock down modestly. VEEV stock and Urban Outfitters are set to fall out of buy zones.
Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally made incremental progress heading into Nvidia earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% in Wednesday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index advanced 0.2%, just setting a new high. The Nasdaq composite also climbed 0.2%. The small-cap Russell 2000 gained 0.6%, hitting a fresh eight-month best.
Leading stocks, especially in the tech space, were mixed.
ELF Beauty stock surged 8.6% to 124.90, racing past the 50-day line and a couple of early entries before breaking out past a 123.98 handle buy point in a double-bottom base.
U.S. crude oil prices rose 1.4% to $64.15 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell two basis points to 4.24%.
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ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF declined 0.75%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF rose 1%. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF climbed 0.3%. Nvidia stock is the No. 1 SMH holding, with Taiwan Semiconductor, AMD and Broadcom also huge components.
ARK Innovation ETF declined 1% and ARK Genomics ETF dropped 0.8%.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF fell 0.2%. U.S. Global Jets ETF descended 0.3%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF was just below break-even. The Energy Select SPDR ETF popped 1.1% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund edged lower.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund finished a fraction lower. The Financial Select SPDR ETF edged up 0.2%.
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What To Do Now
The stock market rally has been acting well with a lot of sectors showing strength.
With the Nasdaq pausing in the past couple of weeks as the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 push higher, a number of stocks are setting up or moving out.
Investors should have their watchlists up to date, casting a wide net beyond the broad AI space to include leading financials, medicals, travel plays and more.
The market reaction to Nvidia earnings could help determine whether the rally continues higher and if so what stocks and sectors lead that advance.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
