U.S. Stock futures edged higher Wednesday morning following President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, as Wall Street also braced for earnings reports from Nvidia and other major companies. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and the S&P 500 (ES=F) traded relatively flat, whereas Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) saw a slight increase of 0.2% as of 5:34 AM EST, according to CME data.
Tuesday’s market rally, which saw gains across the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow, was fueled in part by a rotation back into technology shares. A relief rally in software and cybersecurity stocks followed an announcement by AI startup Anthropic introducing new enterprise capabilities for its Claude Cowork platform, enabling integration with applications like Google Drive, DocuSign, and LegalZoom.
President Trump’s State of the Union address, delivered Tuesday night, focused heavily on trade and tariffs, particularly after facing recent political pushback on his tariff policies. The President reportedly criticized the Supreme Court during the address while reaffirming his commitment to global tariffs. Over the weekend, Trump had threatened to raise global tariffs to 15%, with a 10% levy on imports already taking effect Tuesday.
Beyond the domestic political landscape, traders are also monitoring escalating geopolitical tensions between the U.S. And Iran.
All eyes are now on Nvidia (NVDA), set to release its quarterly earnings report after the market closes Wednesday. Analysts are anticipating roughly 68% revenue growth for the fourth quarter, with particular attention on demand for the company’s next-generation Vera Rubin systems. Salesforce (CRM) and Snowflake (SNOW) are also scheduled to report earnings Wednesday.
The Paramount Skydance takeover battle for Warner Brothers Discovery is also drawing investor attention, with Paramount Skydance submitting a higher bid, potentially prompting a response from Netflix. Investors will be assessing how this merger activity impacts streaming profitability and potential price increases.
Several regional Federal Reserve bank presidents are also expected to provide economic commentary Wednesday, adding another layer of scrutiny to the market’s outlook.
