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

  • Investors awaited July CPI for fresh clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate path.
  • A hotter-than-expected CPI print could revive rate-hike fears after three Fed officials dissented in favor of a hike at the July meeting.
  • AI infrastructure stocks rallied in premarket trading, led by CoreWeave, Super Micro Computer and Nebius. 

U.S. stock futures were marginally higher early Wednesday as investors waited for the latest inflation reading for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next move.

July CPI data will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, with economists anticipating a 0.2% monthly increase and an annualized 3.4% headline rate. A hotter-than-expected reading could revive concerns about inflation and interest rates, particularly after three Federal Reserve officials dissented in favor of a rate hike at the central bank’s most recent meeting. 

As of 4:00 a.m. ET, Nasdaq futures rose 0.4%, S&P 500 and Russell 2000 were up 0.1%, while Dow 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 remained ‘neutral’, and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, has moved to ‘bearish’ from ‘extremely bearish’ a day ago.

AI Trade In The Spotlight

CoreWeave (CRWV): Shares soared 15% in early premarket trading after the AI cloud infrastructure provider finally broke its streak of disappointing post-earnings reactions with strong margins, revenue and backlog growth. 

The result also lifted other AI infrastructure names, with Nebius (NBIS) rising 8% ahead of its own earnings report before Wednesday’s open. Investors will be watching for commentary on capex and data center buildouts, especially after DA Davidson recently cut its price target citing construction delays. 

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares surged 9% in early premarket trading after the server and data-center hardware company offered a stronger outlook despite a revenue miss.

Micron Technology (MU), SanDisk (SNDK) and SK Hynix (SKHY) are in focus after reports that Singapore’s Temasek plans to invest directly in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, boosting South Korea’s KOSPI in trade today. 

Oracle (ORCL): Shares rose over 1% in early premarket trading after a report that the company is preparing another round of layoffs.

Space Stocks Are Buzzing 

SpaceX (SPCX): Elon Musk said artificial intelligence could account for 99% of SpaceX’s value within four or five years. He also added that AI revenue could surpass the combined revenue of SpaceX’s other operations as soon as September. Meanwhile, a filing showed that ally Antonio Gracias holds a 6.5% stake in the company. 

Rocket Lab (RKLB) is also in focus after Ark Investment Management bought roughly 292,000 shares on Tuesday.

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) is moving closer to bringing satellite connectivity directly to smartphones in the UK. ASTS said it will “imminently” begin operations with Vodafone after securing required regulatory authorizations.

Velo3D (VELO) shares surged 19% in early premarket trading after the SpaceX supplier beat expectations and raised guidance. 

Meanwhile, the Pentagon launched an industry portal for the $185 billion Golden Dome missile-defense program. SpaceX and Northrop Grumman have already completed initial tests, while the Space Force has awarded armed-satellite development contracts to 12 companies, including RTX, Anduril and Lockheed Martin. 

Trending Stocks

U.S. Antimony (UAMY): Shares fell 15% in early premarket trading after lower antimony prices and weaker revenue renewed concerns about execution, although retail traders remain bullish on the company.

CAVA (CAVA): Shares rose 10% in early premarket trading after the restaurant chain beat second-quarter expectations, with traffic growth holding up despite recent concerns around leafy greens and food safety.

Fermi (FRMI): Shares rose 2% in early premarket trading after partnering with Hillcore on a power complex, potentially doubling its Matador project capacity to roughly 4.8 GW. 

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Ondas (ONDS), Firefly Aerospace (FLY), Gorilla Technology (GRRR), and BlackBerry (BB).

What Else To Watch Wednesday

Oil remains another variable to watch, with U.S. crude above $83 a barrel as hopes for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz fade. Gold was hovering near $4,370 as traders waited for CPI and monitored geopolitical developments.

On the earnings front, WeRide (WRD), T1 Energy (TE), Humacyte (HUMA), Altimmune (ALT) and Nexxen International (NEXN) are among those reporting before the bell today. After the close, investors will hear from Cisco Systems (CSCO), Coherent (COHR), Virgin Galactic (SPCE), Spire Global (SPIR), NANO Nuclear Energy (NNE), Cerebras Systems (CBRS), Pan American Silver (PAAS) and several other companies. 

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