U.S. stock futures inched higher on Thursday evening after Wall Street indexes logged record-high closes, lifted by a surge in Intel following a $5 billion investment from Nvidia and relief over the Federal Reserve’s first rate cut since December.
S&P 500 Futures gained 0.2% to 6,704.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.2% to 24,747.75 points by 20:16 ET (00:16 GMT). Dow Jones Futures also edged 0.2% higher to 46,601.0 points.
Intel shares surge on Nvidia’s $5 bln investment
In regular trading, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 6,631.95 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3% to 46,142.24, and the NASDAQ Composite jumped 0.9% to 22,470.73, all three hitting fresh record closes.
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) shares jumped more than 22% after Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) said it would buy a $5 billion stake in the chipmaker and work together on data centre and PC processors.
The tie-up aims to combine Intel’s x86 architecture and manufacturing base with Nvidia’s graphics and AI platforms, easing investor concerns about Intel’s competitiveness.
This agreement comes a few weeks after the White House engineered a deal for the U.S. government to take a massive stake in the company. Nvidia’s support represents a new opportunity for Intel after years of turnaround efforts at the famed U.S. manufacturer failed to yield results.
The move also helped steady sentiment around Nvidia, which had slumped earlier in the week after the Financial Times reported that Chinese regulators instructed domestic technology firms to halt purchases of its AI chips.
That directive, seen as part of Beijing’s drive to bolster local semiconductor capabilities, raised fears of a sharp hit to Nvidia’s sales in one of its most important markets.
Investors assess Fed’s easing path
The broader market drew additional support from the Fed’s decision on Wednesday to cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to a range of 4.00% to 4.25%.
The policy shift, aimed at cushioning a cooling labor market, was accompanied by projections for two more quarter-point reductions this year and another in 2026.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the move was a “risk-management cut” and stressed that future easing would depend on incoming data.
He pointed to persistent inflation pressures and uneven economic signals, underscoring that the central bank would proceed cautiously rather than committing to an aggressive cutting cycle.
Source :
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/us-stock-futures-gain-after-wall-st-hits-new-peak-on-intel-surge-fed-cut-4246003
