5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens

U.S. stock futures are higher as investors await jobs data and remarks from Federal Reserve officials; Salesforce (CRM) stock is jumping in premarket trading after the cloud software firm beat earnings expectations and raised its outlook; Palantir (PLTR) shares are adding to all-time highs after its products were approved for government use; Campbell’s (CPB) CEO is leaving for an NFL job; and Amazon (AMZN) announces an artificial intelligence supercomputer powered by homegrown chips. Here’s what investors need to know today.

1. US Stock Futures Up as Investors Await Powell Speech, Jobs Data

U.S. stock futures are rising after the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes rose to record closing highs Tuesday. Nasdaq futures are 0.6% higher, S&P 500 futures are up 0.3%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 0.4% after finishing within 1% of its all-time closing high. Investors are anticipating private-sector hiring data this morning and remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later today. Bitcoin (BTCUSD) is little changed at around $96,000, crude and gold futures also are near flat, and 10-year Treasury yields are ticking higher.

2. Salesforce Stock Soars on Strong Results, Improved Outlook

Salesforce (CRM) stock is surging 13% in premarket trading after the company’s third-quarter results came in better than expectations and it raised its full-year outlook. The cloud software company reported revenue growth of 8% year-over-year to $9.44 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $1.58, up from $1.25, with both coming in higher than consensus estimates of analysts compiled by Visible Alpha. Salesforce also raised the low end of its fiscal 2025 revenue guidance to $37.8 billion from $37 billion.

3. Palantir Stock Adds to All-Time Highs on Government Approval

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares are up more than 1% in premarket trading, adding to all-time highs set Tuesday after the analytics software firm announced that its entire product suite has received approval for use in processing sensitive federal workloads. Palantir shares, which have surged more than four-fold this year, also may have benefited from a report in Barron’s showing that the software maker remains a top contender to join the Nasdaq 100 when the tech-heavy index undergoes its annual reconstitution.

4. Campbell’s Stock Drops on CEO Departure, Weaker-Than-Expected Results

Campbell’s (CPB) stock is more than 3% lower in premarket trading after the company announced Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Clouse is retiring to join the front office of the NFL’s Washington Commanders and the soup maker reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter results. Campbell’s named President, Meals & Beverages Mick Beekhuizen as its new CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2025. Campbell’s also reported net sales of $2.77 billion and EPS of $0.72, both below estimates.

5. Amazon Announces AI Supercomputer With In-House Chips, New Server

Amazon (AMZN) shares are 1% higher in premarket trading after the tech giant announced an AI supercomputer made of its in-house Trainium chips and also a new server that it said will be used by AI startup Anthropic. The “Ultracluster” announced by the tech giant’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing arm was designed by Amazon’s chip lab in Austin, Texas, The Wall Street Journal reported. Amazon last month invested an additional $4 billion in Anthropic, whose Claude chatbot is a rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

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