Wall Street futures edged higher Wednesday as investors awaited corporate earnings reports and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later in the day.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%, Dow Jones futures gained 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures climbed 0.5% in premarket trading. All three indexes set record highs in the previous session for a third consecutive day.
Asian markets closed mostly higher, buoyed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s optimistic remarks on relations with China and Japan during his ongoing Asian tour. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.2% to a record 51,307.65, while South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.8% to 4,081.15. Shanghai’s Composite index advanced 0.7%, trading near decade-high levels ahead of Trump’s expected meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Tech giant Nvidia extended gains overnight, rising 3.8% to touch $207.80 per share in premarket trading, making it the first company with a market value above $5 trillion. The rally follows CEO Jensen Huang’s announcement of $500 billion in chip orders and Trump’s indication that the company’s Blackwell chips would be discussed with Xi.
Industrial equipment maker Caterpillar shares jumped 4.4% after reporting a 10% revenue increase over the same quarter last year, surpassing Wall Street expectations. Later Wednesday, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Starbucks are scheduled to report earnings.
Investors widely anticipate the Fed will cut interest rates by 25 basis points due to a slowing U.S. job market. Analysts note the nearly monthlong government shutdown has left policymakers with limited fresh data, prompting a cautious approach.
In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.7%, Germany’s DAX fell 0.1%, and Paris’s CAC 40 remained flat. In other Asian markets, Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.2%, and India’s Sensex climbed 0.4%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1% following higher-than-expected inflation data.
In energy trading, U.S. crude rose 25 cents to $60.40 a barrel, while Brent crude gained 24 cents to $64.07 a barrel.