US stock futures rose on Wednesday, with the Dow eyeing a fresh record as upbeat earnings boosted AI optimism and chances grew that the record-long US shutdown will end soon.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) moved up 0.3%, coming off the blue-chip benchmark’s record-high close on Tuesday in a split session for stocks. S&P 500 futures (ES=F) added roughly 0.4%, while contracts on the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) popped nearly 0.6%.
Tech-linked gauges are perking up after AMD’s (AMD) CEO laid out lofty sales outlooks due to its AI push. Earnings brought more AI bullishness, as Nvidia (NVDA) partner Foxconn (2317.TW, HNHPF) forecast a sustained data-center boom, echoing German chipmaker Infineon (IFX.DE). Shares of AMD jumped over 5% in premarket, and Nvidia moved up over 1% as chip stocks staged a comeback.
Adding to the positive tone, hopes are rising for a key House vote that could end the longest government shutdown in US history as soon as today. The final ballot is penciled in for around 7 p.m. ET, and passage could get President Trump’s signature quickly, given he has backed the measure.
A reopening could open the floodgates for the economic data delayed by the stoppage, with releases such as September’s jobs report potentially arriving as soon as next week. Wall Street is hungry for official insight into the economy after weeks of relying on private data to calculate the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates.
Wednesday will see several Fed officials speak, including Trump’s newest appointee, Stephen Miran. Christopher Waller, reportedly in contention to be named the central bank’s next chair, is also on the lineup. The focus is on clues to the Fed’s policy decision at its December meeting, with most bets still on a quarter-point rate cut.
Earnings season continues at a slower pace, with most S&P 500 company reports already in. Cisco (CSCO) results are Wednesday’s highlight, due after market close. Before the bell, crypto company Circle (CRCL) posted a quarterly profit beat amid stablecoin growth, but its shares fell.
LIVE 8 updates
-
Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
Economic data: MBA mortgage applications (week ended Nov. 7)
Earnings calendar: Cisco Systems (CSCO), TransDigm (TDG), Manulife (MFC), Flutter Entertainment (FLUT), Tencent Music Entertainment (TME), ORIX Corporation (IX), Circle (CRCL), GlobalFoundries (GFS), Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS), Ascendis Pharma (ASND), On Holding (ONON), Firefly Aerospace (FLY), McGraw Hill (MH)
Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:
How the AI craze means investors are missing out
House lawmakers return to try to reopen government by this evening
House eyes stock-trading ban once government reopens
AMD stock rises as investors cheer growth targets
Circle quarterly revenue rises on stablecoin growth
Goldman see US stocks lagging all peers next decade
Foxconn teases OpenAI move, gives bullish AI demand outlook
China accuses US of orchestrating $13 billion bitcoin hack
SoftBank slides as Nvidia sale highlights AI funding needs
-
Circle falls after quarterly profit beats estimates on stablecoin growth
Circle (CRCL) stock fell 3% before the bell on Wednesday despite beating Wall Street estimates for its third quarter profit, on the back of higher reserve income for its USDC as stablecoin circulation rose.
Reuters reports:
Read more here.
-
Premarket trending tickers: Bill, Micron, and Lyft
Bill Holdings (BILL) stock jumped 12% in premarket trading on Wednesday amid reports that the payment firm is exploring a potential sale.
Micron (MU) stock rose 2% before the bell on Wednesday amid the rise in AMD shares, which jumped following CEO Lisa Su’s speech and outlook on Tuesday.
Lyft (LYFT) rose 2% premarket after analysts raised price targets for the company’s stock.
-
Nvidia supplier Foxconn bullish on AI demand, teases OpenAI announcement
Foxconn (2317.TW, HNHPF) Taiwan’s shares rose 1% on Wednesday after the world’s largest contract electronics maker offered a bullish outlook on AI-related demand, saying it would be a big driver of 2026 growth, and teased an announcement next week with OpenAI (OPAI.PVT).
Reuters reports:
Read more here.
-
IBM debuts new quantum chip
IBM (IBM) unveiled a new quantum computing chip Wednesday that’s slated for release by the end of 2026, which would help the company achieve a key milemark toward making quantum computers useful.
The so-called IBM Quantum Nighthawk chip, used alongside the tech firm’s quantum software, is set to help the company achieve “quantum advantage” by the end of next year.
That advantage refers to a milestone at which quantum computing ” gives you a better outcome than any other possible way that humans have come up with doing it on a classical computer,” IBM’s vice president of quantum adoption Scott Crowder explained in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
IBM said it’s already working with customers from Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) to Vanguard to use its quantum computers. The company is working to release the world’s first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer called Starling in 2029.
Quantum stocks have exploded over the past year as tech giants such as Google (GOOG) and Nvidia (NVDA) as well as pure-play quantum tech providers like Rigetti (RGTI) and IonQ (IONQ) have introduced new chips and software.
IBM intends to keep its leadership in the space, however.
“By any meaningful metric whatsoever, from an adoption point of view, we’re way in the lead,” said Crowder. ” Frankly, most of our other competitors — if you really dig in, there’s some like massive gaps on their roadmaps.”
The stock is up roughly 43% for the year.
-
AMD CEO forecasts 60% jump in data center revenue as market hits $1 trillion
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares rose over 5% in premarket after CEO Lisa Su laid out lofty forecasts at the chipmaker’s analyst day.
Yahoo Finance’s Daniel Howley reports:
Read more here.
-
Japan’s finance minister issues warning as yen falls toward critical level
Bloomberg reports:
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama issued a fresh warning on currency movements as the yen (JPY=X) weakened toward the key threshold of 155 per dollar, inching closer to levels where authorities last intervened in markets.
“We’re seeing one-sided, rapid currency moves of late,” Katayama said in response to questions in parliament Wednesday, adding that it can’t be denied that the negative aspects of the weak yen are becoming clearer. “The government is watching for any excessive and disorderly moves with a high sense of urgency.” …
Katayama’s comments came as nervousness is building in the markets over the yen’s gradual move toward levels where interventions occurred in the past.
While most see that as still some distance away, further weakness in the country’s currency could trigger additional speculation, putting more pressure on Katayama to at least intervene verbally more frequently, before taking actual action.
The last time Japan intervened in the foreign exchange markets was in July last year, when the yen was trading around 160 to the dollar.
Read more here.
-
Gold halts three-day streak of gains as traders assess potential end to government shutdown
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
