US equity markets showed promising signs before the Thursday opening bell, with investors closely monitoring Nvidia's latest quarterly results. The Standard & Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq each experienced a 0.6% increase in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.3%. In Asia, many exchanges were trending upward, contrasting with the downward momentum observed in European markets by midday.
Nvidia's shares climbed 1% in pre-market trading after the chipmaker reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that exceeded expectations, alongside a positive revenue outlook for the ongoing quarter. On the other hand, Salesforce faced a decline of 3.9% as its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue fell short of market predictions.
Conversely, Snowflake saw an impressive 13% jump in its stock after reporting fiscal fourth-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street's forecasts. Several companies, including Vistra, BeiGene, Warner Bros. Discovery, Endeavor Group, Hormel Foods, Viatris, J.M. Smucker, Norwegian Cruise Line, Bath & Body Works, Donaldson, EchoStar, and Payoneer Global, are set to unveil their latest financial results before the opening bell.
Meanwhile, Dell Technologies, Autodesk, Monster Beverage, and HP are expected to report earnings after the markets close. On the economic front, significant reports will be released, including the durable goods orders for January, a second estimate of the fourth-quarter gross domestic product, and the weekly jobless claims bulletin, all scheduled for 8:30 am ET.
Moreover, the National Association of Realtors will publish its pending home sales index for the previous month at 10 am. The release of the weekly EIA natural gas supplies report is forthcoming at 10:30 am, followed by the Kansas City Federal Reserve's manufacturing index for February at 11 am. Several Federal Reserve officials, including Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid, will deliver speeches throughout the morning, addressing key economic issues crucial to the market stakeholders.
In pre-market trading, Bitcoin surged 3.1% to $86,411, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 1% to $69.29 per barrel. Yields on 10-year Treasuries increased by 5.5 basis points, reaching 4.3%, as gold prices decreased by 1% to $2,901 an ounce..