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U.S. stock index futures edged modestly lower on Thursday as investors digested quarterly results from artificial intelligence heavyweight Nvidia and turned cautious ahead of a fresh round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran.
At 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT), Dow Jones Futures fell 45 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 Futures and Nasdaq 100 Futures also dipped around 0.1%.
The pullback followed a strong prior session on Wall Street, where optimism over the outlook for artificial intelligence lifted equities. The S&P 500 gained 0.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.3%, reflecting renewed confidence after weeks of volatility tied to AI disruption fears.
Nvidia delivers strong results, but investor expectations remain high
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) reported better-than-expected revenue and profit for the three months ended in January and issued an upbeat forecast for the current quarter, underscoring continued outsized demand for its AI-focused chips.
However, the stock’s reaction was muted as some investors questioned whether the semiconductor giant is returning enough capital to shareholders. Yvette Schmitter, CEO of IT consulting firm Fusion Collective, noted that Nvidia generated $35 billion in cash during the fourth quarter but returned only 12% of that to shareholders, sharply down from 52% a year earlier.
Concerns were also raised as Nvidia highlighted sold-out Ampere chips as a signal of strong demand, even as shareholder returns have declined.
Despite these reservations, Nvidia’s results reinforced expectations that AI-driven spending will remain a key growth engine for the broader technology sector in the months ahead.
Elsewhere in tech, Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) slid in premarket trading after issuing a fiscal 2027 revenue forecast that fell short of Wall Street expectations, signaling that corporate software spending may be softening amid wider economic uncertainty.
Investors are also bracing for more earnings later in the day, with reports due from Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD), Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) and CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV).
Geopolitical tensions add to caution
Geopolitics continued to inject uncertainty into markets as U.S. and Iranian officials met in Geneva for a third round of talks this year over Tehran’s nuclear program.
President Donald Trump warned that “bad things” could happen if meaningful progress is not made, while the U.S. has significantly increased its military presence in the Middle East. Any escalation could threaten oil supplies from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest crude producer, keeping energy markets on edge.
Oil prices retreated from near seven-month highs as traders locked in profits. Brent crude fell 1.2% to $69.83 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped 1.6% to $64.39 a barrel.
As markets weigh strong corporate earnings against geopolitical risks, investors appear poised to remain cautious in the near term.
