Nvidia stock surges after blowout sales, pushing US futures sharply higher
- US futures jumped ahead of the bell as investors cheered Nvidia's better-than-expected revenues.
- European markets and Japan's Nikkei 225 are also riding high on tech optimism.
Nvidia stock surged almost 15% in premarket trading after posting blockbuster quarterly sales on Wednesday that beat even Wall Street's most optimistic expectations.
The AI chipmaker had revenues of $22.1 billion in the fourth quarter, a 265% year-on-year increase, and said revenues for the current quarter would be about $24 billion.
Nvidia closed at $674 but is set to open at about $770 when trading begins on the New York Stock Exchange at 9:30 a.m ET.
The stock's surge pushed futures sharply higher ahead of the bell and bolstered global markets as well.
S&P 500 futures jumped by 1.12%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rode the Nvidia wave to jump by 1.96% shortly before 5 a.m. ET. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures posted a slightly more subdued rise of 0.25%.
Ten-year treasury notes dipped marginally ahead of the bell after hitting their highest level since November on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Brent crude oil was trading above $83 amid supply concerns resulting from several outages at key refineries and worries over escalating conflict in the Middle East.
After dipping anxiously ahead of Nvidia's much-anticipated earnings on Wednesday, markets soared globally after Nvidia's beat.
Insider Intelligence senior analyst Jacob Bourne noted the company's "blockbuster quarter" and said it had a "massive lead in the growing global AI chip sector," but warned it could not rest on its laurels.
Tech optimism bolstered global markets, with the Stoxx Europe 600 climbing 0.9% to hit a record high and Japan's Nikkei 225 index reaching a 34-year peak, surging more than 2%.
Though it did little to dampen investors' tech optimism, the minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting lowered market expectations on the pace and scale of interest rate cuts.
Earnings for Booking Holdings and software company Intuit are set to be announced Thursday. The release of US jobless earnings, January home sales, and flash manufacturing PMIs will also provide traders with fresh insight into the economy.