Stock Market Update

Equity futures point to a sharply higher open after the major averages snapped their recent losing streak in yesterday's trade as tech names gained momentum ahead of NVIDIA's (NVDA 195.87, +9.35, +5.0%) earnings report. 

NVIDIA delivered on the hype, besting earnings expectations and, more importantly, issuing strong guidance, which has restored some momentum to the AI trade after a descent from record highs. 

Yesterday's action featured some choppiness, as the rebound in tech names was at times weighed down by dampened expectations for a December rate cut. The BLS confirmed that much of the employment data from the government shutdown will be delayed or withheld, and the October FOMC meeting minutes showed some hawkishness among Fed officials.

The CME FedWatch Tool currently assigns a 27.8% probability to a 25-basis point rate cut in December, making the 8:30 ET release of the September Nonfarms Payroll Report all the more important if there is to be any chance of another cut this year. 

With the sharp rise in NVIDIA and other mega-cap names, it may not matter much in today's trade. 

In corporate news:

• Moderna (MRNA 24.73, +0.55, +2.3%) trades higher in the premarket; the company says it expects 10% revenue growth over the next year at its investor day. 
• NVIDIA (NVDA 195.87, +9.35, +5.0%) beat EPS expectations by $0.04, beat revenue expectations, and guided Q4 revenues above consensus. The company noted that Blackwell sales are off the charts, and cloud GPUs are sold out.
• Walmart (WMT 100.80, +0.19, +0.2%) beat EPS expectations by $0.02, beat revenue expectations, and saw comparable sales rise 4.5%. The company raised its FY26 EPS and net sales growth guidance. 

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a higher note. Japan's Nikkei: +2.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: UNCH, China's Shanghai Composite: -0.4%, India's Sensex: +0.5%, South Korea's Kospi: +1.9%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +1.3%.

In news:

• China expanded its restrictions on trade with Japan by banning imports of Japanese beef in response to Japan Prime Minister Takaichi's comment that Japan should defend Taiwan in case of an annexation attempt from China.
• China's rare earth magnet exports to the U.S. in October were up 56% month-over-month.
• The People's Bank of China left its one-year and five-year loan prime rates at their respective 3.00% and 3.50%, as expected.

In economic data:

• Hong Kong's October CPI 0.3% m/m (last 0.1%); 1.2% yr/yr (last 1.1%)

Major European indices trade in the green. STOXX Europe 600: +0.5% Germany's DAX: +0.8% U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.6% France's CAC 40: +0.8% Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.8% Spain's IBEX 35: +0.6%

In news:

• European Central Bank policymaker Makhlouf said that he is comfortable with the central bank's current policy stance, echoing recent comments from other governing council members.
• BNP Paribas raised its profitability targets for the coming years.
• Belgium's budget minister Vincent Van Peteghem is reportedly a frontrunner to become the new Eurogroup chief after the recent resignation of Pascal Donohoe.

In economic data:

• Germany's October PPI 0.1% m/m (expected 0.0%; last -0.1%); -1.8% yr/yr (expected -1.9%; last -1.7%)
• U.K.'s November CBI Industrial Trends Orders -37 (expected -33; last -38)
• Swiss October trade surplus CHF4.319 bln (expected surplus of CHF4.76 bln; last surplus of CHF3.99 bln)