(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, with those tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq in the lead as investors cheered streaming giant Netflix’s strong quarterly performance and President Donald Trump’s multi-billion show of support for the AI technology industry.
At 5:31 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 57 points, or 0.13%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 26 points, or 0.43% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 177.75 points, or 0.82%.
Netflix jumped 14.3% in premarket trading after reporting a record number of subscribers over the holiday quarter, enabling it to increase prices for most service plans.
Other streaming firms such as Roku and Walt Disney added 1.3% and 4.2%, respectively.
“Stellar subscriber figures such as these would be hard to beat. Netflix is seen as a litmus test for the entire tech sector … the tech sector could be well placed to report strong earnings figures in the coming months,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
Also among top movers, Oracle gained 7.8%, a day after Trump said the company would make a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure with OpenAI and SoftBank – a joint venture called Stargate. Although, there was no clarity on funding.
Server makers including Dell and Super Micro added 3.5% and 3% respectively, while AI bellwethers Microsoft added 1.5% and Nvidia rose 2.8%.
“The news also boosted growth and productivity expectations more than they fueled the ballooning debt worries,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
Data pointing to a strong economy as underlying inflation cools, and Trump’s moderate approach to tariffs have aided risk taking on Wall Street since last week, with the benchmark S&P 500 less than 1% away from all-time highs. Easing Treasury yields have also encouraged risk taking in stocks.
However, Trump has warned that tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union could be issued on Feb. 1, a reminder for markets that risks of a potential trade war and fresh inflation pressures still prevailed.
Traders expect the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets next week and expect the central bank to deliver its first rate cut this year in July, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Among other movers, United Airlines advanced 3.6% after forecasting a stronger-than-expected profit in the current quarter, betting on robust travel demand and improved pricing power.
Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Abbott Halliburton are among those that are expected to report quarterly earnings before markets open.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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