Pre-Bell｜US Stock Futures Jump as Nvidia Results Ease AI Bubble Concerns. Big Techs, Chip Stocks, Nuclear Sectors Rally; Long-Awaited Jobs Report in Focus

Futures tied to Wall Street's main indexes jumped on Thursday after Nvidia's stellar results quelled some concerns around an AI bubble, boosting technology stocks, while a long-awaited jobs report was also in focus.

Market Snapshot

At 8:30 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 233 points, or 0.5%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 73.5 points, or 1.1%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 380.75 points, or 1.54%.

Pre-Market Movers

Nvidia jumped 4.8% on the back of its better-than-expected third-quarter earnings report. The chip maker also issued rock-solid revenue guidance: For the current fourth quarter, it's expecting revenue in a range with a midpoint of $65 billion, well above the $62.2 billion that analysts were expecting. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the AI business was looking robust, and that sales for the company's Blackwell chip were "off the charts."

Nvidia's outlook lifted other AI stocks as investors put aside their fears about lofty valuations. Data analytics software developer Palantir Technologies added 3.3%, while AI server maker Super Micro Computer gained 5.9%.

Advanced Micro Devices rose 4.5%, boosted by Nvidia's strong guidance as well as news that the Commerce Department had approved the sale of up to 70,000 advanced AI chips to two companies based in the Middle East, according to the The Wall Street Journal. AMD has an agreement worth billions of dollars to work with one of the companies, Saudi Arabia's Humain.

Google parent Alphabet climbed 1.9%, putting it on pace to extend a record-breaking run. Shares hit an all-time closing high on Wednesday of $292.82 amid rave reviews for Google's new Gemini AI model. Coming into Thursday, Alphabet stock has surged nearly 55% this year. It was on the brink of overtaking Microsoft to become the third-largest U.S. company by market value.

Palo Alto Networks was the worst premarket performer in the S&P 500, sliding 3.8%. The cybersecurity company's earnings and revenue forecast met analysts' expectations but failed to impress investors. Palo Alto Networks also said it intends to purchase Chronosphere, a cybersecurity company focused on observability tools, for $3.35 billion.

Walmart posted adjusted earnings of 62 cents a share and $179.5 billion in revenue for the fiscal third quarter, topping consensus estimates. The world's largest retailer also raised its fiscal-year guidance. However, shares declined 2%. The company separately announced it was transferring the listing of its common stock and nine bonds to the Nasdaq from the New York Stock Exchange.

Market News

US Economy Likely Added Jobs at a Moderate Pace in September

U.S. job growth likely picked up moderately in September, while the unemployment rate held steady near a four-year high of 4.3%, consistent with sluggish labor market conditions that economists and policymakers have blamed on low supply and demand for workers.

Though the Labor Department's closely watched employment report on Thursday would be backward-looking, it would confirm the significant loss of momentum in the labor market this year, marked by sharp downward revisions to nonfarm payroll counts.