Stock futures rise after S&P 500 posts fourth losing day; Nvidia earnings loom: Live updates

Stock futures rose Wednesday following a fourth-straight day of losses for the S&P 500. Investors are also awaiting earnings from market bellwether Nvidia.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 111 points, or 0.4%. Nasdaq-100 futures added 0.8%, while S&P 500 futures climbed 0.5%.

Stocks are coming off a weak session. The S&P 500 tumbled 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost nearly 1.4%. Both indexes logged their fourth consecutive losing day. The 30-stock Dow was the outlier, with a roughly 0.4% advance.

A weaker-than-expected consumer confidence reading from the Conference Board weighed on stocks Tuesday. A raft of recent reports, including disappointing retail sales numbers and a weak consumer sentiment reading have spurred traders’ worries around the economy over the past week — and the major averages have suffered.

Nvidia’s fourth-quarter earnings, due after the closing bell Wednesday, could be the next catalyst for the market. The stock climbed 2% in the premarket Wednesday.

The report arrives at a pivotal time for Nvidia. The emergence of DeepSeek raised questions about the sustainability of the once-hot artificial intelligence trade. The chip giant and other momentum plays are also showing signs of fizzling, with Nvidia down more than 5% in 2025.

“I think as the earnings report comes out tomorrow, my expectation is it’s going to be a lot like September,” NYU Stern School of Business finance professor Aswath Damodaran said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”

“A replay of [the] September [quarter] where they will beat analyst expectations, but the market is going to be disappointed because the market seems to have set expectations higher than what analysts are seeing for the company,” he added.

Economic data due on Wednesday include new home sales and building permits. The main event for investors will be the release of the personal consumption expenditures price index on Friday. The PCE is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.

Deutsche Bank upgrades shares of Coupang

Shares of South Korean e-commerce company Coupang could be due for some more growth ahead, according to Deutsche Bank.

The stock rose more than 5% in the premarket on Wednesday after analyst Peter Milliken upgraded it to buy from hold and increased its price target. The updated target now implies about 18% upside from Tuesday’s close.

“The Korean e-commerce market had a tough year, with most traditional rivals contracting, yet much of the reason has been Coupang’s superior execution, which drove 4Q net underlying revenues up 21% in local currency terms,” the firm wrote in a Wednesday note. “The company is confident for more of the same in 2025, guiding to 20% revenue growth in constant currency terms.”

This year, Coupang has already outperformed the broader market, advancing around 10% year to date. That’s about eight times the S&P 500’s year-to-date gains of more than 1%.

— Sean Conlon

GM pops on dividend increase, $6 billion buyback

General Motors shares jumped nearly 5% after the automaker increased its quarterly dividend and initiated a $6 billion buyback.

The company increased its dividend by 25% to 15 cents per share, matching that of Ford Motor. On top of that, it launched a buyback program during which it is expected to repurchase $2 billion in stock during the second quarter.

— Fred Imbert

Lowe’s shares rise after earnings beat

Lowe’s shares were up more than 2% in the premarket after the home improvement retailer reported fourth-quarter figures that beat expectations.

The company earned $1.93 per share, excluding items, on revenue of $18.55 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a profit of $1.84 per share on revenue of $18.3 billion.

— Fred Imbert

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumps as city pledges to develop itself into an artificial intelligence hub

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday, as two key Wall Street benchmarks fell overnight following a drop in U.S. consumer confidence that was weaker than economists’ estimates.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 3.25% in its last hour of trade. Gains were led by the consumer and technology sectors as the city pledged in its budget announcement today to develop itself into an artificial intelligence hub, allocating 1 billion Hong Kong dollars toward AI research and development.

The Hang Seng Tech index surged 4.46% in its last hour, on the back of a sharp rise in JD.com (8.32%), Xpeng (8.35%), Alibaba (5.13%) and Meituan (9.71%).

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 and Topix were in negative territory for the second consecutive day. The Nikkei 225 lost 0.25% to close at 38,142.37, while the broader Topix index fell 0.30% to end the day at 2,716.40.

South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.41% higher at 2,641.09 while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.26% to close at 771.41.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 index ended the day 0.87% higher at 3,959.94.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.14% to end the day at 8,240.70. This is its second consecutive day in negative territory.

— Amala Balakrishner

‘Rally in Treasuries will lose steam,’ Capital Economics says

The Federal Reserve’s inability to cut interest rates in 2025 as a result of President Trump’s tariff policies means the past week’s rally in U.S. Treasuries that drove 10-year note yields below 4.30% will eventually reverse, according to Joe Maher, assistant economist at London-based Capital Economics.

“Investor sentiment has taken a turn for the worse over recent days,” and “risk appetite” has soured, Maher wrote Tuesday. Ten-year Treasury yields are down 50 basis points, or half a percentage point, since their recent peak in mid-January, as recent economic surveys “have started to surprise to the downside.”

The problem for Treasury prices, Capital Economics says, is “that inflationary pressures will strengthen as Trump brings in further tariffs in the second quarter of this year,” which will outweigh the impact of slower economic growth, “and keep the Fed on hold for the remainder of the year. In turn, we think a more hawkish FOMC than currently discounted will push the 10-year Treasury yield up to 4.75% by end-2025.”

— Scott Schnipper

Super Micro shares surge after company files long-awaited financials

Super Micro Computer soared in extended trading after the embattled server maker submitted its delayed financial statements ahead of a key deadline from Nasdaq.

The stock leapt 22% in after-hours trading.

Super Micro submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission updated and audited statements for its fiscal 2024, as well as the first two quarters of fiscal 2025.

Nasdaq had given Super Micro until Feb. 25 to turn in the reports or else face delisting.  

Shares have fallen 47% over the past 12 months.

Read more about Super Micro’s updated financial filings here from CNBC’s Kif Leswing.

—Darla Mercado

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

Check out some of the companies making headlines in extended trading:

• Jack in the Box — The fast-food chain surged more than 10%. The company reported fiscal first-quarter operating earnings of $1.92 per share, while analysts polled by FactSet forecast $1.69 per share.
• Workday — Shares of the manufacturer of human resources software jumped 7%. Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings came in at $1.92 per share on revenue of $2.21 billion. That beat analysts’ projections for $1.78 per share in earnings and $2.18 billion in revenue.
• Instacart — Shares of the grocery delivery service tumbled 8%. Fourth-quarter revenue came in at $883 million, falling short of analysts’ call for $891 million, per LSEG. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the current quarter will range between $220 million and $230 million, while analysts polled by FactSet forecast $237.1 million.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

Stock futures open higher

Stock futures were higher on Tuesday as investors look toward a key earnings report from Nvidia.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 gained 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.4%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 81 points, or 0.1%.

— Brian Evans