Wall Street Futures Rise Amid Fed Rate Cut Expectations and AI Chip Sector Concerns

Wall St futures edge up amid Fed rate cut optimism; earnings in focus

Aug 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday amid growing expectations of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts this year, while investors assessed a new wave of corporate earnings. At 5:37 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 16 points, or 0.25%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 11.75 points, or 0.05% and Dow E-minis were up 149 points, or 0.34%. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), opens new tab dropped 5.9% in premarket trading after the chipmaker reported disappointing revenue from data center, an artificial intelligence chip segment that investors have been betting for higher growth. AI server maker Super Micro (SMCI.O), opens new tab also underwhelmed as it missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates, sending its shares plunging 16.7%. Shares of rivals Dell Technologies (DELL.N), opens new tab and HP Enterprise (HPE.N), opens new tab fell 3% and 0.9%, respectively. Attention will be on earnings reports from Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab, Uber (UBER.N), opens new tab and McDonald's (MCD.N), opens new tab due before the opening bell. Airbnb , DoorDash (DASH.O), opens new tab and Lyft (LYFT.O), opens new tab will report after the market closes. The damage from U.S. trade war on results of Yum Brands (YUM.N), opens new tab, Caterpillar (CAT.N), opens new tab, and Marriott (MAR.O), opens new tab as well as a series of weak economic data pushed Wall Street lower on Tuesday. Data showed U.S. services activity unexpectedly stalled in July, with businesses saying President Donald Trump's new tariff rates are pushing costs higher. That followed Friday's report, which showed weaker employment growth in July and sharp downward revisions for the previous two months - suggesting deteriorating labor market conditions that increased bets for a rate cut in September. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, odds for a September rate cut stand at 85.5%, up from 46.7% a week ago, while traders see at least two cuts by the end of 2025. Trump's tariff threats showed no signs of easing. The president on Tuesday said he would impose a "small tariff" on pharmaceutical imports before hiking it to triple-digit percentage in a year or two. Trump also announced plans for new levies on semiconductors and chips in the "next week or so." Adding to the uncertainty, Trump will decide on a nominee to replace outgoing Fed Governor Adriana Kugler by the end of the week, while saying he narrowed the possible replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a short list of four. Economies worldwide were still scrambling to strike favorable deals with Washington. Beijing's trade truce with the U.S. is set to expire on August 12, as the world's two largest economies move toward an agreement. Among other movers, Arista Networks (ANET.N), opens new tab jumped 13% after the cloud networking firm forecast third-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, Boston Fed chief Susan Collins and Fed Board Governor Lisa Cook are scheduled to speak later in the day. Reporting by Nikhil Sharma; Editing by Maju Samuel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Wall Street set for steady open on Fed rate cut hopes; earnings in focus

Aug 6 (Reuters) - Wall Street was poised for a steady start on Wednesday, as ongoing optimism about Federal Reserve interest rate cuts kept markets afloat and investors assessed a fresh wave of corporate earnings. At 8:15 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 7.25 points, or 0.1%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were 14.5 points, or 0.06%, higher and Dow E-minis were up 103 points, or 0.23%. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), opens new tab dropped 5.4% in premarket trading after the chipmaker reported disappointing revenue from data center, an artificial intelligence chip segment that investors have been betting for higher growth. AI server maker Super Micro (SMCI.O), opens new tab also underwhelmed as it missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates, sending its shares plunging 17%. Shares of rivals Dell Technologies (DELL.N), opens new tab and HP Enterprise (HPE.N), opens new tab fell 3% and 1.4%, respectively. Uber (UBER.N), opens new tab added 1.3% after unveiling a $20 billion stock buyback program and forecasting third-quarter bookings above Wall Street estimates. Walt Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab posted better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its full-year earnings guidance, but its shares fell 2.2%. Airbnb , DoorDash (DASH.O), opens new tab and Lyft (LYFT.O), opens new tab will report their results after the market closes. The damage from the U.S. trade war on quarterly results of Yum Brands (YUM.N), opens new tab, Caterpillar (CAT.N), opens new tab and Marriott (MAR.O), opens new tab, as well as a series of weak economic data pushed Wall Street lower on Tuesday. "Sectors more exposed to tariffs and regulatory changes are seeing negative earnings revisions as well as weaker guidance," said Nicole Inui, head of equity strategy at HSBC Americas. "We expect a more substantial hit in the third quarter," and "earnings growth to slow in the second half, reflecting tariff pressure and a weaker economy." Tuesday's data showed U.S. services sector activity unexpectedly stalled in July, highlighting the Trump administration's tariff-related strain on businesses. The setback followed last week's troubling jobs report, which showed slowing employment growth and downward revisions for previous months - fueling concerns about a weakening labor market. As a result, traders are now betting heavily on a September Fed rate cut, with odds soaring to 89.4% from just 46.7% last week, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Traders also bet on at least two cuts by the end of 2025. Trump's tariff threats showed no signs of easing. The president on Tuesday said he would impose a "small tariff" on pharmaceutical imports before hiking it to triple-digit percentage in a year or two. Trump also announced plans for new levies on semiconductors and chips in the "next week or so." Adding to the uncertainty, Trump will decide on a nominee to replace outgoing Fed Governor Adriana Kugler by the end of the week, while saying he has narrowed the possible replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a short list of four. Among other movers, Arista Networks (ANET.N), opens new tab jumped 11.1% after the cloud networking firm forecast third-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates. McDonald's (MCD.N), opens new tab advanced 3.6% after the burger chain beat expectations for global comparable sales in the second quarter, thanks to demand for affordable meal options. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, Boston Fed chief Susan Collins and Fed Board Governor Lisa Cook are scheduled to speak later in the day. Reporting by Nikhil Sharma; Editing by Maju Samuel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Wall St futures edge up amid Fed rate cut optimism; earnings in focus

(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday amid growing expectations of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts this year, while investors assessed a new wave of corporate earnings. At 5:37 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 16 points, or 0.25%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 11.75 points, or 0.05% and Dow E-minis were up 149 points, or 0.34%. Advanced Micro Devices dropped 5.9% in premarket trading after the chipmaker reported disappointing revenue from data center, an artificial intelligence chip segment that investors have been betting for higher growth. AI server maker Super Micro also underwhelmed as it missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates, sending its shares plunging 16.7%. Shares of rivals Dell Technologies and HP Enterprise fell 3% and 0.9%, respectively. Attention will be on earnings reports from Disney, Uber and McDonald's due before the opening bell. Airbnb, DoorDash and Lyft will report after the market closes. The damage from U.S. trade war on results of Yum Brands, Caterpillar, and Marriott as well as a series of weak economic data pushed Wall Street lower on Tuesday. Data showed U.S. services activity unexpectedly stalled in July, with businesses saying President Donald Trump's new tariff rates are pushing costs higher. That followed Friday's report, which showed weaker employment growth in July and sharp downward revisions for the previous two months - suggesting deteriorating labor market conditions that increased bets for a rate cut in September. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, odds for a September rate cut stand at 85.5%, up from 46.7% a week ago, while traders see at least two cuts by the end of 2025. Trump's tariff threats showed no signs of easing. The president on Tuesday said he would impose a "small tariff" on pharmaceutical imports before hiking it to triple-digit percentage in a year or two. Trump also announced plans for new levies on semiconductors and chips in the "next week or so." Adding to the uncertainty, Trump will decide on a nominee to replace outgoing Fed Governor Adriana Kugler by the end of the week, while saying he narrowed the possible replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a short list of four. Economies worldwide were still scrambling to strike favorable deals with Washington. Beijing's trade truce with the U.S. is set to expire on August 12, as the world's two largest economies move toward an agreement. Among other movers, Arista Networks jumped 13% after the cloud networking firm forecast third-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, Boston Fed chief Susan Collins and Fed Board Governor Lisa Cook are scheduled to speak later in the day. (Reporting by Nikhil Sharma; Editing by Maju Samuel)