Stock futures climbed Wednesday as investors awaited quarterly results from chip giant Nvidia. Traders also tried to regain their footing following a mixed session Tuesday.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials obtained seven points to 34,351.
Futures for the S&P 500 doggedly gained two points to 4,401.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ gained seven points to 14,965.50.
Nvidia is slated to report second-quarter earnings after the bell. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expect the company to report sharp year-over-year spikes in profit and revenue for the second quarter. Nvidia is the best-performing S&P 500 stock of 2023, up more than 200%, as investors cheer the company's AI-related prospects.
Investors will look to the report for signs on whether the market can resume this year's move higher, or if the August downturn will be prolonged. The S&P 500 is down more than 4% this month. On Wednesday, shares rose more than 1%.
Dick's Sporting Goods fell 24% in its worst daily performance ever after coming up short of Wall Street expectations and pulling back its full-year earnings guidance. Macy's fell 14% after reiterating its conservative outlook, while Lowe's climbed more than 3% after exceeding the consensus estimate of analysts for earnings and reaffirming full-year expectations.
Beyond the earnings slated for Wednesday, investors will also be watching for economic data on new home sales and purchasing. They'll also be readying for the start of a two-day Federal Reserve symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, beginning Thursday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to deliver remarks Friday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index was stronger 0.5% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was better by 0.3%.
Oil prices doffed $1.31 to $78.33 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $9.30 to $1,935.30 U.S. an ounce.