US pre-open: Futures higher ahead of Nvidia earnings

25th Feb 2026 11:53

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Wednesday as investors patiently awaited quarterly earnings from semiconductor giant Nvidia after the close.

As of 1230 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.22%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.26% and 0.34% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 370.44 points higher on Tuesday, partially rebounding from a tariff-fuelled sell-off in the previous session.

Wednesday's primary focus will undoubtedly be quarterly numbers from chipmaker Nvidia, with the numbers coming as investors continue to reassess elevated valuations across the sector and grow more cautious over the scale of AI‑related capital spending by the hyperscalers.

Elsewhere in the corporate space, Lowe's beat expectations with its quarterly revenue and earnings figures as sales posted double‑digit growth from a year earlier. The home improvement retailer also said it expects full‑year sales to come in between $92bn and $94bn in FY26, which would represent an increase of roughly 7% to 9% compared with the prior year.

Still to come, Salesforce, Zoom Communications and Snowflake will all report earnings after the close.

Separately, market participants were also monitoring tensions between the US and Iran, as well as Donald Trump's threat to raise global tariffs to 15% over the weekend - though a 10% duty on worldwide imports was ultimately implemented on Tuesday.

Trade Nation's David Morrison said: "All the US majors remain rangebound for now. The big question is whether the bulls can grab back the reins and drive equities to new all-time highs, or whether the top is in and the bears take control. Traders are looking for a catalyst for the next big move. Could that come from Nvidia's earnings report? That seems unlikely given that the biggest uncertainty is if the US is going to go to war with Iran."

On the macro front, US mortgage applications edged higher in the week ended 20 February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the modest improvement seen a week earlier despite a further drop in benchmark borrowing costs. Mortgage applications rose 0.4% week-on-week, following a 2.8% increase in the previous period, with the MBA highlighting that the only modest increase came despite mortgage rates falling to their lowest level in nearly four years, driven by soft risk appetite that pushed investors into long‑dated Treasuries.

Refinancing activity, which is more sensitive to short‑term rate moves, climbed 4%, while applications to purchase a home fell 5%, with the report pointing out that a lack of new supply that continued to keep prospective buyers on the sidelines.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com