Investing.com – Futures rose slightly on Wednesday as investors weighed a series of corporate earnings, as well as lingering uncertainty around the artificial intelligence trade and the Middle East conflict. Get Premium Stock Market Insights with InvestingPro
As of 6:07 a.m. ET (10:07 GMT), the index had gained 6 points, or 0.1%, and was up 87 points, or 0.3%. down 66 points, or 0.1%.
Wall Street’s major averages finished mixed Tuesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 and blue-chip stocks both posting gains, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq finished slightly lower.
Early in the session, unconfirmed reports that Qatar and Pakistan had presented a proposal to restart negotiations to conclude the war in Iran briefly sent oil prices tumbling from $112 per barrel to $106 per barrel. The rumors bolstered sentiment, which has been shaken in recent sessions by concerns about the sustainability of massive AI infrastructure spending fueled by debt and high borrowing costs.
“The relief in the energy sector that emerged at the end of the European session led to a rally in stocks as investors overcame some of their earlier AI-related jitters,” Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note.
Yet the benchmark index subsequently rose as traders reacted to a report that Iran’s president believes “the United States will attack again if we negotiate.” Brent last hovered around $110 a barrel.
Committees formed to explore possible merger, says Musk
In individual stocks, EspaceX And Tesla have formed committees to explore a possible merger, according to Elon Musk, boosting shares of both companies in premarket trading.
Speaking on a call with investors after SpaceX revealed its second quarterly results since its blockbuster IPO earlier this year, Musk said the committees had not reached agreement on “the terms of any transaction.”
Musk, who is CEO of both companies and is not on either committee, added that there was “no guarantee” that a deal would ultimately be reached, but stressed that he believed there was “a lot of merit” to a tie-up.
The tie-up of SpaceX and Tesla would see the world’s largest commercial rocket launcher and satellite operator join forces with the second-largest electric car maker.
In the third quarter, SpaceX reported revenue of $14.6 billion, up more than 160% from last year and above analyst estimates. Profit came in at $4.4 billion, while capital expenditures climbed to $19.6 billion.
Tesla is expected to report after the closing bell later today, while Instagram’s parent company is expected to be the first AI hyperscaler to report quarterly results.
Elsewhere, shares fell more than 6% after its results indicated a slowdown in revenue growth, while Super Micro Computer jumped 16% after forecasting quarterly revenues and gross margins well above its previous forecasts. Shares of fell slightly after the carrier issued a disappointing earnings outlook that highlighted the impact of high fuel costs.
(Ayushman Ojha contributed reporting)
Gn bussni
