S&P 500, Nasdaq futures rise to new highs as Nvidia jumps

By Ragini Mathur and Utkarsh Hathi

May 14 (Reuters) – Futures tracking the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose to record highs on Thursday as Nvidia’s shares jumped, while investors watched developments around the high-stakes U.S.-China summit and awaited economic data.

Nvidia rose 1.9% in premarket trading, giving the chipmaker a market valuation of $5.9 trillion, after Reuters reported citing sources that the U.S. has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy its second-most powerful AI chip, the H200.

A steady rally in technology stocks in recent weeks, particularly chipmakers, has pushed U.S. stocks to new highs despite lingering concerns about the Middle East conflict and higher inflation due to surging oil prices. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Donald Trump at the start of a two-day summit on Thursday that trade talks were making progress, but warned that tensions over Taiwan could put relations on a dangerous path and even risk conflict.

Trump’s visit also comes against the backdrop of the war with Iran, with the president expected to seek Beijing’s help in ending the costly conflict that has sent global energy prices surging.

At 07:05 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 359 points, or 0.72%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 22 points, or 0.29%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 82.25 points, or 0.28%.

“It does look like the market is shrugging off the hotter-than-expected inflation, even though we have seen expectations surrounding a more hawkish Fed show up,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index.

“It’s the euphoria surrounding AI, tech, and particularly chip stocks and all this is happening as attention is obviously on the U.S. and China as Trump meets with Xi Jinping” 

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq advanced on Wednesday, notching another record close in a recent run to all-time highs.

This week’s stronger consumer prices and producer prices readings have reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep monetary policy restrictive for longer. 

Traders are now pricing in more than a 28% chance of a quarter-point rate hike by the end of the year, up from 20.7% a week earlier, per CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Investors will turn to April retail sales data, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, for signs that higher gasoline and energy costs are beginning to squeeze consumer spending. Weekly initial jobless claims, scheduled for release at the same time, will be watched for clues on the labor market.

Among major movers, Cisco soared 16.3% after the tech networking giant said it would cut nearly 4,000 jobs, as part of a restructuring, and raised its annual revenue forecast after a surge in hyperscaler orders.

(Reporting by Ragini Mathur and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)