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LivestreamMenuTraders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on August 05, 2026 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. equity futures traded near the flatline Wednesday evening after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high, as investors looked ahead to another round of corporate earnings.
Futures tied to the Dow added 86 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.4%.
In regular trading, the Dow rose 263.24 points, or 0.49%, for a record close and its fifth positive day in a row. The S&P 500 pulled back 0.17% and snapped a four-day win streak. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.83%.
Strong earnings and renewed optimism over artificial intelligence initially lifted the market Wednesday, with Nvidia rallying more than 3% after Elon Musk said on SpaceX’s earnings call that the company would use Nvidia chips exclusively for its AI infrastructure. The chipmaker’s climb helped push the Dow to its new high. However, tech stocks pulled back as investors took profits and shares of Advanced Micro Devices and Alphabet struggled.
watch nowVIDEO03:02The earnings growth story has legs, says Goldman Sachs’ Katherine BordlemayClosing Bell: Overtime
“Earnings are getting bigger, they’re getting broader,” Katherine Bordlemay, Goldman Sachs Asset Management co-head of Americas client portfolio management, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” “More encouraging is the breadth. We’re seeing double-digit earnings growth coming from almost all sectors in the S&P.”
“This big debate of are we going to have a return on investment from the AI — well we’ve really seen some companies like the hyperscalers show up and say yes,” Bordlemay added. “Margins are starting to expand, backlogs are continuing, so that all continues and … earnings are going to tee us up well.”
Investors have also been encouraged by signs that tensions in the Middle East could ease, which has put oil on a cooling trend in recent days.
However, inflation is still in focus for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who said on Wednesday that she is “prepared to act” on an interest rate hike unless signs of continued disinflation emerge.
Wall Street is looking ahead to another busy day of earnings Thursday, with Warner Bros. Discovery on deck before the bell .Airbnb and Lyft are slated to report after the bell.
10 Min Ago
Stocks making the biggest moves in extended trading
Shares of several companies moved in after-hours trading following the latest round of earnings reports.
AppLovin — The marketing platform operator tanked almost 16% after third quarter projections disappointed Wall Street. The company sees adjusted EBITDA for the period in a range of $1.71 billion to $1.74 billion, while the StreetAccount consensus estimate sought $1.75 billion. Revenue in the second quarter also narrowly missed estimates.
Western Digital — Shares of the data storage company slumped more than 10% as current quarter projections underwhelmed traders. Western Digital called for adjusted earnings of $4 a share, plus or minus 15 cents, on revenue of $4.1 billion, plus or minus $100 million. The LSEG consensus estimate forecast $3.81 a share on $4.04 billion in revenue.
Read more about Wednesday’s movers here.
—Darla Mercado
47 Min Ago
Stock futures open near flat
U.S. stock futures opened near flat on Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while Dow futures gained 57 points, or 0.1%. Nasdaq 100 futures slid 0.1%.
–Darla Mercado
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