Editor’s Note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the lede, and the latest economic releases were updated in the story.
U.S. stock futures were swinging on Thursday following Wednesday’s advances. Futures of major benchmark indices were largely mixed.
The initial jobless claims fell to 229,000 in the week ending Aug. 21, below the 231,000 consensus forecast.
Real gross domestic product increased by 3.3% according to the second estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. This compares to a 0.5% decrease during the first quarter.
Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) dropped in the premarket, despite a better-than-expected second-quarter result reported on Wednesday after market close.
The stock decline was most likely fueled by:
- No guidance on any H20 shipments to China;
- Weaker than expected data center revenue; or
- Market makers running "mean reversion algorithms" to prevent them from exercising all the call options that were issued.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.23% and the two-year bond was at 3.62%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing an 87.3% likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting the current interest rates for the Sept. 17 decision.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.20% |
| S&P 500 | 0.06% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.02% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.71% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were slightly higher in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.10% at $647.28, while the QQQ advanced 0.044% to $573.74, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session
Recording the biggest gains on Wednesday, energy, information technology, and real estate stocks led most S&P 500 sectors to a positive close. Communication services and health care stocks, however, bucked the market trend by closing lower.
The broader market saw U.S. stocks settle higher, with the Dow Jones index gaining over 100 points, while the S&P 500 also achieved a new all-time closing high.
On the economic data front, the volume of mortgage applications declined by 0.5% from the previous week in the third week of August, following a 1.4% decline in the prior month.
MongoDB Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB) shares jumped 38% after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results and raised its full-year guidance above estimates.
Shares of Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE:KSS) rose 24% after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly financial results and raised its FY25 revenue outlook.
The Dow Jones index ended 147 points or 0.32% higher at 45,565.23, whereas the S&P 500 index rose 0.24% to 6,481.40. Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.21% to 21,590.14, and the small-cap gauge, Russell 2000, gained 0.64% to end at 2,373.80.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | 0.21% | 21,590.14 |
| S&P 500 | 0.24% | 6,481.40 |
| Dow Jones | 0.32% | 45,565.23 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.64% | 2,373.80 |
Insights From Analysts
According to Louis Navellier, Nvidia guidance excluded any H20 chip sales to China, “so that apparently weighted on the stock in aftermarket trading.”
He further explained that the stock does not often rally in the wake of its earnings because of all of the call options written by market makers to collect option premiums.
“Sometimes market makers run ‘mean reversion algorithms’ to prevent them from exercising all the call options issued,” he said.
According to Yahoo Finance, NVDA’s stock dropped because its data center revenue grew 56% year over year to $41.1 billion compared with Bloomberg estimates of $41.3 billion.
However, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the results and outlook reaffirm Nvidia’s leadership in AI infrastructure.
“This is a robust quarter and guide from Nvidia,” Ives wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Especially when considering not factoring in China H20 revs. Demand massive for Nvidia AI chips and not slowing down.”
Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster said the Street is underestimating Nvidia’s growth trajectory.
Munster noted that adjusted guidance beat whisper numbers and highlighted CEO Jensen Huang’s comments suggesting Nvidia’s China business could eventually represent $50 billion annually and grow at 50%.
"He (Huang) thinks that if they could sell fully into China, this would be a $50 billion year business for them. They're going to do about $250 billion next year," he stated.
“My read is China's probably growing a little bit faster than the rest of the world, but Jensen thinks that they're going to grow next year between 40 and 50%,” Munster said. “That's a pretty big jump. And something doesn't really jive here because when you look at it from that perspective, that's further evidence that the stock could be up.”
CNBC’s Jim Cramer also weighed in, repeating his long-held advice: “Own it, don’t trade it.”
Meanwhile, Strategas Research Partners has outlined 20 compelling reasons suggesting global economic growth is reaccelerating, as shared by Chris Verrone, a macro analyst.
Among these, the report highlights the S&P 500’s 50-day average breaking out as a bullish market signal, a 19% steepening of the U.S. 10-year yield curve (and 21% for China's 1-year curve) indicating growth expectations, and robust data like surging U.S. initial jobless claims near 50-year lows.
The discussion thread expands on this, with contributors noting potential rate cuts and the enactment of the Build Back Better (BBB) plan—seen as boosting certainty and investment—as additional catalysts, per Ryan Edwards' reply.
A surge in the Dry Bulk Shipping index, evidenced by a user-shared chart, further supports this trend, reflecting heightened global trade activity.
With 16 more points in the report, including rising imports and steel output, this paints a multifaceted picture of recovery.
See Also: How to Trade Futures
Economic Data
Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday;
- Initial jobless claims fell to 229,000 in the week ending Aug. 21, down from the previous 234,000 claims last week and much below the 231,000 consensus forecast.
- Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.3% in the second quarter of 2025, according to the second estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
- Fed Gov. Christopher Waller will speak at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Stocks In Focus
- Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) was down 1.55% in premarket on Thursday despite better-than-expected earnings and sales results for the second quarter after the closing bell on Wednesday. The company also said it sees third-quarter revenue to be in a range of $52.92 billion to $55.08 billion, versus a Street consensus estimate of $52.96 billion.
- Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG) rose 2.03% as it is expected to report earnings before the opening bell. Analysts estimate earnings of $1.57 per share on revenue of $10.69 billion.
- Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE:BBY) advanced 2.05% as it is expected to report earnings before the opening bell. Analysts estimate earnings of $1.21 per share on revenue of $9.24 billion.
- Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) was up 0.14% as it is expected to report earnings after the closing bell. Analysts estimate earnings of $2.31 per share on revenue of $29.17 billion.
- Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) jumped 4.49% after reporting better-than-expected results for the second quarter and issuing strong guidance. It raised its full-year 2025 revenue guidance from a range of $4.33 billion to $4.42 billion to a new range of $4.44 billion to $4.52 billion, versus estimates of $4.45 billion.
- Telomir Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:TELO) surged 42.57% following the company's announcement of promising in vitro data for its lead drug candidate, Telomir-1.
- Phibro Animal Health Corp. (NASDAQ:PAHC) climbed 15.40% following strong fourth-quarter results that beat expectations.
- CEL-SCI Corp. (NYSE:CVM) dropped 30.83% following the company's announcement of a $10 million public offering priced below current market levels.
- Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BMNR) rose 2.65% as Ark Invest made substantial purchases of the stock across multiple ETFs, including Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (BATS:ARKF), ARK Innovation ETF (BATS:ARKK), and ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (BATS:ARKW).
Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.51% to hover around $63.82 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.10% to hover around $3,400.96 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $3,500.33 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.15% lower at the 98.0850 level.
Asian markets ended higher on Thursday, except India’s S&P BSE Sensex, Hong Kong's Hang Seng indices. China’s CSI 300, Australia's ASX 200, Japan's Nikkei 225, and South Korea's Kospi indices rose. European markets were also mostly higher in early trade.
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