Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., August 26, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures were flat early Wednesday as investors turn their eyes to Nvidia earnings, which could be a make-or-break moment for the bull market.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were little changed.
In after-hours trading, MongoDB popped almost 30% after the developer data platform topped Wall Street’s expectations. Okta jumped about 6% after its quarterly results and full-year forecast beat consensus estimates. Both companies cited the demand coming from companies developing artificial intelligence platforms for the strong results. That bodes well for Nvidia, which releases its financial results after the closing bell on Wednesday.
Wall Street has high hopes for Nvidia, which has the biggest weight in the S&P 500 and is considered a bellwether in the broader market and a major indicator of AI development. Its earnings could either dampen or propel this year’s rally, particularly as the “Magnificent Seven” looks to recover from last week’s sell-off.
Nvidia is widely expected to report sales and earnings that outpace consensus estimates. The chipmaker has beaten earnings expectations in 11 of past 12 quarterly reports, but the stock has had a downbeat post-earnings reaction four of those times, according to FactSet.
“I know investors are really anxious and Nvidia has not performed well the last few times it’s reported, but the story arc there remains that it’s one of the most important companies in the world in the middle of the biggest structural change in the world economy. … It really wouldn’t change our thesis if the stock reacted poorly,” Tom Lee, head of research and chief investment officer of Fundstrat Capital, told CNBC on Tuesday. “I think everyone’s trying to get situational awareness. Like, is this inning one or two, or late innings?”
U.S. stocks are coming off of a lackluster trading session on Tuesday, ending little changed as the market largely looked past President Donald Trump’s unprecedented move to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from the central bank’s board.
This week marks the last of August trading, which is historically a rough month for stocks. The three major U.S. indexes, however, are tracking for gains this month with optimism pouring into the market in anticipation of a potential rate cut ahead. The S&P 500 is up 2% this month, while the 30-stock Dow has climbed 2.9%. The Nasdaq has gained 2%.