Nasdaq futures surge after Netflix results, Trump's AI investment plans

• Oracle up after Trump unveils $500 bln AI plan
• Johnson & Johnson rises after upbeat Q4 results
• Halliburton gains as Q4 profit beats estimates
• Futures up: Dow 0.18%, S&P 500 0.43%, Nasdaq 0.82%

By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

Jan 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, led by those tied to the Nasdaq, as investors cheered streaming giant Netflix's strong quarterly performance and President Donald Trump's multi-billion dollar support to bolster AI infrastructure.

Netflix NFLX.O jumped 14.9% in premarket trading after reporting a record number of subscribers in the holiday quarter, enabling it to increase prices for most service plans.

Other streaming companies such as Roku ROKU.O and Walt Disney DIS.N added 4.2% and 1.3%, respectively.

"Stellar subscriber figures such as these would be hard to beat. Netflix is seen as a litmus test for the entire tech sector ... the tech sector could be well placed to report strong earnings figures in the coming months," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

At 06:58 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were up 83 points, or 0.18%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 26.25 points, or 0.43% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 177.75 points, or 0.82%.

Among the top movers, Oracle ORCL.N gained 8.7%, a day after Trump said the company would invest $500 billion in AI infrastructure with OpenAI and SoftBank 9984.T, even though there was no clarity on funding.

Server makers Dell DELL.N and Super Micro SMCI.O added 4.5% and 2.6%, respectively, while AI winners Microsoft MSFT.O added 1% and Nvidia NVDA.O rose 2.7%.

"The news also boosted growth and productivity expectations more than they fueled the ballooning debt worries," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

Data pointing to a strong economy amid cooling inflation and Trump's moderate approach to tariffs have helped risk-taking since last week, with the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX less than 1% away from all-time highs. Stocks have also benefited from easing Treasury yields.

However, Trump has warned that tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union could be issued on Feb. 1, a reminder for markets that risks of a potential trade war and fresh inflation pressures prevailed.

Traders expect the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets next week and expect it to deliver its first rate cut this year in July, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N edged up 0.2% after the drugmaker reported fourth-quarter sales and profit above Wall Street estimates, driven by strong sales of its cancer treatments.

GE Vernova GEV.N fell 2.1% after missing fourth-quarter revenue estimates.

Halliburton HAL.N gained 1.2% after beating estimates for fourth-quarter profit, helped by higher demand for oilfield services and equipment from international markets.

United Airlines UAL.O advanced 3.8% after forecasting a stronger-than-expected profit in the current quarter, betting on robust travel demand and improved pricing power.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian, Purvi Agarwal and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Arun Koyyur)

((johann.mcherian@thomsonreuters.com;))