U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday as investors priced in a high chance that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this month and awaited a fresh set of economic data.
Market Snapshot
At 7:50 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 126 points, or 0.27%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 19.25 points, or 0.28% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 57 points, or 0.22%.
Pre-Market Movers
American Eagle Outfitters - American Eagle Outfitters gained 12.5% after the clothing retailer reported record sales and better-than-expected earnings in its fiscal third quarter. Same-store sales climbed 4% from a year ago, reflecting the success of recent marketing campaigns featuring the likes ofSydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce, which executives said had driven customer engagement and attracted new shoppers.
Marvell Technology - Marvell Technology jumped 9.1% ahead of the opening bell after the chip maker beat Wall Street’s third-quarterearnings and revenue targetsand forecast stronger-than-expected growth for its data-center segment. Marvell also announced that it would be acquiring artificial-intelligence start-up Celestial AI in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $3.25 billion.
CrowdStrike - CrowdStrike dropped 0.9%. The cybersecurity company narrowly topped analysts’ estimates for its third-quarter earnings and revenue and issued solid fourth-quarter guidance. Investors may have been looking for an excuse to dump shares, which look a little overvalued: CrowdStrike has risen 130% since bottoming out in August 2024—it now fetches 79 times projected free-cash-flow-per-share for the next 12 months.
Crypto Stocks - Crypto stocks were rallying, with Bitcoin up 6.4% to $92,999 over the past 24 hours as investors piled back into risk assets. American Bitcoin rose 9%; BitMine rose 5%; SharpLink Gaming rose 4%; CleanSpark, Circle, Cipher Mining, and MARA Holdings rose 3%; IREN, Strategy, Riot Platforms, Bullish, Coinbase , and Robinhood rose 2%.
Macy's - Macy’s posted its strongest growth in more than three years as the company’s turnaround strategy showed signs of momentum in the third quarter. The company raised its full-year sales guidance, but said it anticipates selective spending by consumers and cost pressures from higher tariffs will persist in the holiday quarter. The shares sank 7.5% in premarket trading.
GitLab - GitLab tumbled 9.4% after the software-development tools provider’s forecast for the current quarter came in slightly below Wall Street expectations. GitLab also swung to a loss for the third quarter even as it posted double-digit sales gains.
Okta - Okta slid 4.8% after the identity-security company beat analysts’ targets for third-quarter earnings and revenue, but didn’t provide guidance for the next fiscal year.
Pure Storage - Pure Storage slumped 12.9% after the data storage company’s third-quarter earnings met analysts’ expectations. Pure Storage’s profit fell from a year ago as operating costs rose across the board.
Asana - Asana was up 2.3% after the work management platform raised its fiscal-year outlook. Asana posted a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss, but topped Wall Street’s revenue target.
Microchip Technology - Chipmaker Microchip Technology raised its expectations for third-quarter net sales and earnings per share, driven by strong bookings, sending its shares up 3.2%.
Dollar Tree - Dollar Tree reported fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.21 a share, topping consensus of $1.08. The discount retailer also raised fiscal-year earnings expectations. The stock gained 1.3%.
Acadia Healthcare - Acadia Healthcare tumbled 30.4%. The behavioral healthcare services company reduced its fiscal-year outlook, citing higher-than-expected costs from patient-related litigation.
Box - Box fell 4.5% after the cloud tools developer missed analysts’ estimate for third-quarter adjusted earnings. That overshadowed a beat on revenue, which Box said was down to rising demand for its artificial- intelligence-powered content management platform.
Sprinklr - Sprinklr shares rose 5.8% in premarket trading Wednesday after the software firm reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 and provided an above-consensus guidance.
Market News
Trump Says He Will Announce Fed Chief Nominee in Early 2026
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would be announcing his choice to succeed Jerome Powell as head of the Federal Reserve early next year, further teasing out a months-long audition process despite having said he already knows who he will pick to lead the world's most important central bank.
In remarks at a cabinet meeting, Trump also said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent - who has led the search process - does not want the top Fed job, and the president did not indicate who his preference may be.
Trump told reporters on Sunday he knows who he plans to pick as the successor to Powell, whose run as Fed chief comes to an end in May, but would not answer when asked if that choice was Kevin Hassett, his top economic adviser and the favorite in online wagering markets. He said again on Tuesday that he has narrowed the list to one person.
Amazon Releases New AI Chip Amid Industry Push to Challenge Nvidia's Dominance
Amazon released a new AI chip on Tuesday, marking the latest move by a tech giant to challenge leading chipmaker Nvidia by introducing custom chips that can handle some AI tasks at lower prices.
Amazon said its servers equipped with Trainium3 chips are four times faster and more energy efficient than those with its previous-generation chips.
" Trainium already represents a multibillion-dollar business today and continues to grow really rapidly," Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman said during the tech giant's annual event, called re:Invent, Tuesday.
The tech giant is one of several Nvidia customers to develop their own AI semiconductors in what is likely the largest competitive threat for the leading chipmaker.
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