Stock Futures Steady as Tech Earnings, Trade War Concerns Weigh on Markets

U.S. stock index futures remained largely unchanged Wednesday night as investors weighed mixed tech earnings and escalating U.S.-China trade tensions. Wall Street saw modest gains during the session, supported by easing Treasury yields.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) led a rally in chip stocks, offsetting Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) sharp 7% drop after weaker-than-expected cloud revenue. The S&P 500 Futures held at 6,088.0 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures dipped to 21,758.75 points. Dow Jones Futures remained flat at 45,011.0 points.

Stocks climbed as purchasing managers index data signaled a cooling U.S. economy, fueling speculation that the Federal Reserve might ease rates. However, fresh U.S. tariffs on China and Beijing’s retaliation kept markets uneasy. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) slipped on reports of a Chinese probe into its App Store.

Wall Street closed higher, with the Dow up 0.7% to 44,873.22 points, the S&P 500 gaining 0.4% to 6,061.47, and the Nasdaq Composite rising 0.2% to 19,692.33. Meanwhile, strong ADP nonfarm employment data stoked fears of a robust jobs report that could delay rate cuts.

Chipmakers Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) and Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM) saw steep declines after issuing underwhelming forecasts. Qualcomm dropped over 4% as it projected no revenue growth in 2025 following its expired Huawei licensing deal. Arm slid more than 6% after its earnings outlook merely matched Wall Street expectations, dampening hopes for AI-driven demand.

Investor attention now turns to Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) upcoming earnings and the official nonfarm payrolls report for further market direction.