By CHAN HO-HIM and MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writers
US futures are mostly higher as demand for artificial intelligence technology leads to a surge in business for Nvidia and other tech companies with heavy exposure to AI.
S&P 500 futures gained 0.4%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were nearly unchanged. Nasdaq futures rose 1%.
Nvidia’s shares are up more than 7% before the opening bell after the AI bellwether blew past Wall Street expectations as revenue for its computer chips soared.
Nvidia’s performance boosted shares of AI-related companies Marvell Technology, SanDisk, Micron Technology and Super Micro Computer. Strong earnings reports from CrowdStrike and Salesforce helped push the Nasdaq up sharply.
On the other end of the spectrum, business is also booming for U.S. dollar stores.
Dollar General and Dollar Tree both breezed past Wall Street expectations for the second quarter and raised their profit expectations for the year on Thursday. Americans, stung by years of stubborn inflation, are trying to cut costs and wealthier households have begun to shop more at places like Walmart and dollar stores.
Yet even Walmart, which has thrived in the current economic environment, has seen its growth slow as consumers grow increasingly uneasy about the U.S. economy.
The U.S. government releases its weekly unemployment report Thursday. The U.S. job market stalled unexpectedly last month, delivering a political blow to President Donald Trump ahead of midterm elections and seemingly complicated the decisions that will have to be made by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.5% to 10,823.27. France’s CAC 40 fell 1.1% to 8,369.92, while Germany’s DAX edged 0.2% higher to 26,348.14. Asian markets were mixed.
Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 0.5% to $87.36 per barrel. It was trading around $72 a barrel in late February before the war in Iran began.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.2% to $82.38 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar climbed to 159.48 Japanese yen from 159.31 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1644, down from $1.1651.