5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens

Stock futures are ticking higher as the market looks to extend its winning streak to three straight days; markets will be closed tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday and will have an abbreviated trading session on Friday; Nvidia has responded to reports that Google’s AI chips are being considered by other tech giants; HP plans to reduce the size of its workforce; and Urban Outfitters shares are soaring after the retailer reported solid earnings and made encouraging comments about its outlook for the holiday season. Here’s what you need to know today.

Stocks Futures Tick Higher as Market Looks to Extend Recent Rally

Stock futures are pointing to a slightly higher open for major indexes this morning after two consecutive days of solid gains. Stocks have rallied this week—after falling sharply last week amid concerns about the AI trade—as investors have grown more optimistic that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates at its next policy meeting in two weeks. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1% recently, while those linked to the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-focused Nasdaq added 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. Gold futures were up 0.7% at $4,170 an ounce, gaining ground for the fourth straight day, while crude oil futures fell slightly to around $58 per barrel. Bitcoin was trading at $86,500 recently, down from an overnight high of just above $88,000. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, was at 4.02%, up from 4.00% at yesterday’s close.

Markets Will Take a Break Thursday for Thanksgiving, Close Early Friday

Traders will be able to take a breather this week after the recent stretch of volatile trading. U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and will have shortened trading schedules on Friday, closing at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. After that, the next market holidays come towards the end of the year with the same shortened trading hours as Black Friday on Dec. 24, and no activity on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Nvidia Responds to Report That Google AI Chips Could Be In Demand

Nvidia (NVDA) stock sank Tuesday and is down slightly in premarket trading Wednesday after a report suggested that its chipmaking dominance in the AI sector could be in question. A report from tech news outlet The Information said that Meta Platforms (META) is considering using AI chips made by Alphabet (GOOGL) unit Google, which is a market that Nvidia has dominated for the last several years. Nvidia responded to the report Tuesday, saying on social media that the company is “delighted by Google’s success — they’ve made great advances in AI and we continue to supply to Google.” However, Nvidia said its products are still “a generation ahead of the industry” and are more flexible and powerful than Google’s chips.

HP Announces Layoffs in $1 Billion Cost-Cutting Effort

Shares of HP (HPQ) are down this morning after the computer and printer maker released its quarterly results and unveiled a major cost-cutting initiative. After Tuesday’s closing bell, HP reported revenue and profit that topped Wall Street expectations, but issued disappointing guiance, while announcing a restructuring plan aimed at saving $1 billion over the next three years. HP said it will cut between 4,000 and 6,000 jobs, up to nearly 10% of its workforce. The company said the cost-cutting effort is aimed at driving “customer satisfaction, product innovation, and productivity through artificial intelligence adoption and enablement.” HP shares were down more than 2% in recent premarket trading.

Urban Outfitters Stock Soars as Earnings Top Estimates, Holiday Sales Look Strong

Urban Outfitters (URBN) shares are soaring Wednesday after the clothing retailer topped estimates in its latest earnings report. Sales came in at $1.53 billion while earnings per share were $1.28, each above the analyst consensus. In its earnings call after the bell Tuesday, CEO Richard Hayne said that November sales have been “robust,” noting that the company has noticed a “slight shift in consumers’ behavior,” according to a transcript from AlphaSense. “We believe customers were waiting a bit longer this year to make their purchases until seasonal promotions began,” Hayne said, “And we successfully met this shift with strong results in our early holiday events.” Urban Outfitters shares were up 15% in premarket trading after jumping 10% Tuesday.