Why Are Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Soaring Premarket? NVDA, MU, MRVL, OKTA, CRM, WEN, RKLB Stocks In Focus

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits remained ‘bearish’ on QQQ and improved to ‘neutral’ on SPY.

• Nvidia’s $108 billion revenue forecast reignited enthusiasm around the AI trade. 
• The tech rally spread across memory, software and cybersecurity stocks in premarket trade.
• Thursday’s weekly jobless claims come ahead of Kevin Warsh’s first Jackson Hole speech as Fed chair on Friday, keeping rates and inflation firmly in focus. 

U.S. stock futures rose early Thursday after Nvidia delivered another blockbuster quarter, giving the AI trade a fresh shot of adrenaline. 

As of 4:30 a.m. ET, Nasdaq futures rose 1%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.5%, Dow futures rose 0.1%, while Russell 2000 futures were flat with a positive bias.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, has moderated to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ a day ago, and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, has remained ‘bearish.’

Nvidia Reignites The AI Trade

Nvidia (NVDA) shares shot up 7% in early premarket trade after guiding Q3 revenue of $108B, without assuming any Data Center compute revenue from China. CEO Jensen Huang brushed off competition and supply constraints while confirming Vera Rubin shipments and a $12.9B deal to acquire Hugging Face.

Micron Technology (MU), SanDisk (SNDK) and SK Hynix (SKHY): Memory stocks are getting a direct Nvidia boost after the chipmaker indicated that memory supply has become a major constraint on its growth ambitions and increased its purchase commitments.

Salesforce (CRM): Shares jumped about 12% in early premarket trade after the company beat expectations. CEO Marc Benioff pushed back hard against the “SaaSpocalypse” narrative, saying that AI agents are actually driving greater usage of Salesforce.

CrowdStrike (CRWD): The cybersecurity stock surged more than 8%in early premarket trade after reporting what management called its “best quarter: in company history. 

Marvell Technology (MRVL): Marvell is in focus ahead of earnings Thursday, with investors looking for another read-through on AI networking and custom silicon demand.

Okta (OKTA): Shares surged 18% premarket on back of strong Q2 earnings.

Meta Platforms (META) remains under mild pressure after it announced an $18B youth safety settlement with U.S. states in the teen addiction trial. Morningstar expects only a marginal hit to teen usage and little revenue impact from the new restrictions from proposed changes to Meta’s apps.

Trending Stocks

Rocket Lab (RKLB): Five executives sold roughly $5.5 million of stock, although filings indicate the transactions were primarily sell-to-cover trades tied to vested stock awards. 

Wendy's (WEN) stock plunged more than 12% after a report said Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management was not planning a take-private bid. Retail chatter on Stocktwits indicates that the stock could still be a short-squeeze candidate.

AeroVironment (AVAV): The defense stock is in focus after receiving a $51 million U.S. Army order ahead of its September earnings report.

Solar Stocks (ENPH, FSLR, ARRY, SEDG): Rising premarket after President Donald Trump signed an executive order restricting certain foreign-made equipment used in the U.S. bulk-power system. The move could benefit domestic and non-Chinese suppliers of grid and energy equipment. 

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Intel (INTC), Abercrombie (ANF), Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), and Novo Nordisk (NVO).

What Else To Watch Thursday

On the economic front, investors will watch the release of weekly jobless claims, the advance U.S. trade balance in goods, and retail and wholesale inventories at 8:30 am ET. 

On Wednesday, data showed that the economy is still growing: second-quarter GDP came in at 1.5% annualized, and consumer spending rose 0.2% in July. But inflation remained above the Fed’s target, while the housing market is showing signs of strain. 

Markets will look to Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s speech at Jackson Hole on Friday for clues about the longer-term rate outlook. 

On the earnings front,  Hyperliquid Strategies Inc. (PURR), Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY), Canadian Solar Inc (CSIQ), Dollar General Corp (DG), Marvell Technology Inc (MRVL), IREN Ltd. (IREN), Affirm Holdings Inc - Ordinary Shares - Class A (AFRM), SentinelOne Inc - Ordinary Shares - Class A (S), and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) are among those reporting today. 

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