U.S. stock futures pointed higher on Wednesday, putting major indexes on course to break a three-day losing streak, as falling oil prices and easing bond yields lifted investor sentiment ahead of Nvidia $NVDA's first-quarter earnings report.
Premarket trading showed Nasdaq $NDAQ-100 contracts up 0.6%, S&P 500 contracts gaining 0.3%, and Dow futures adding 119 points, equivalent to a 0.2% advance. The S&P 500 had fallen 2% across the prior three sessions after hitting a record on Thursday.
Among commodities, Brent crude slipped about 2% to the vicinity of $109 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate hovered just above $102, down roughly 1%. The catalyst for the crude selloff was Trump's remarks that the Iran conflict might conclude "very quickly," which stoked optimism about the Strait of Hormuz reopening to traffic; The Wall Street Journal reported that three tankers made overnight transits of the waterway.
The pullback in crude helped ease inflation fears that have weighed on bond markets. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell about 3 basis points on Wednesday morning after touching its highest level since January 2025 on Tuesday. The 30-year Treasury yield touched 5.19% on Tuesday, a level not reached in close to two decades, before Wednesday brought some relief.
Nvidia is the central focus for markets on Wednesday. The chipmaker is scheduled to report earnings after the closing bell. Speaking on CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs $GS chief U.S. equity strategist Ben Snider pointed out that roughly 20% of both the S&P 500's year-to-date returns and its 2026 earnings growth can be traced back to Nvidia. Nvidia carries an 8% weighting in the S&P 500.
According to MarketWatch, the options market has assigned roughly a 6.5% move in either direction to Nvidia shares once the results are out. Over the preceding five quarters, Nvidia shares moved an average of slightly more than 3% in the session immediately following each earnings release.
Technology stocks led premarket gains on expectations for a strong Nvidia result. Shares of Micron $MU Technology were up close to 4%, Marvell Technology gained nearly 5%, and Intel $INTC advanced by more than 3%.
Among other earnings movers, CAVA Group jumped more than 7% after the fast-casual chain disclosed double-digit sales growth for its latest quarter. Target $TGT stock gained more than 2% after the retailer doubled its annual sales growth forecast. Lowe's $LOW fell more than 3% after the retailer echoed rival Home Depot $HD's cautious tone on the U.S. housing backdrop.
Investors are also watching for the minutes from the Federal Reserve's April policy meeting, which are due at 2 p.m.