Updated 1 min read
US stock futures climbed on Wednesday as Wall Street awaited Nvidia (NVDA) earnings, looking for a strong signal on AI demand to provide some relief from ongoing inflation concerns.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) moved up 0.3%, while those on the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) jumped roughly 0.7%. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) , which includes fewer tech stocks, nudged up 0.1%. On Tuesday, stocks declined as techs pulled back and Treasury yields surged.
Investors are counting down to the release of quarterly results from Nvidia, which have proved a catalyst for markets in the past. While the stock of the world’s most valuable company has continued to rise this year, chipmaker rivals are closing in.
Nvidia’s earnings have become a talisman for investors looking to gauge whether AI demand will continue to boom, given the chipmaker is a linchpin of the industry. Due after the market close, its report will be scrutinized for clues on whether Big Tech is still spending massively on AI buildouts .
The results come as the AI trade provides a bright spot for markets worried about geopolitical uncertainty and persistent inflation. Concerns that rising inflation could force the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates have dampened interest in growth stocks, including AI, as US bond yields surged to levels not seen in almost two decades.
The Iran war — a major driver of rising prices — continues with no end in sight. President Trump threatened to attack the Middle Eastern country in the coming days if a peace deal isn’t reached soon and again asserted the war with Iran will end “very quickly”.
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Stock market coverage for Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
