Nasdaq futures rise nearly 2% as Nvidia exceeds projections

Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged by almost 2% on Thursday as the excitement surrounding artificial intelligence that has driven Wall Street to all-time highs this year received a further boost from Nvidia's stellar earnings and outlook.  

The chip designer predicted that high demand for its AI chips would result in a roughly threefold increase in first-quarter revenue, which sent Nvidia's shares soaring 12.9% in premarket activity. 

The corporation was expected to increase its market value by more than $200 billion after exceeding forecasts for fourth-quarter revenue.  

E-mini Dow was up 69 points, or 0.18%, S&P 500 e-mini up 52 points, or 1.04%, and Nasdaq 100 e-mini up 331.5 points, or 1.89%, at 4:29 a.m. ET.  

Shares of other companies, seen as beneficiaries of the AI boost, also got a shot in the arm. Nvidia's rival Advanced Micro Devices, opens new tab, server component supplier Super Micro Computer, opens new tab and Arm Holdings jumped between 5.5% and 14.1%. 

Major technology and growth stocks, including Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Tesla, Alphabet, and Tesla, opened new tabs and climbed 1.0% to 2.4%.  

The AI-driven Wall Street rise had been put to the test in large part by Nvidia's earnings, and several analysts had warned that underwhelming results may trigger a sharp selloff in technology companies. In the foreseeable future, Wall Street might set new records if the trend continues. 

"Death, taxes, and Nvidia's earnings beat are the only certainties in life. The standards were really high, and astonishingly, they've succeeded once more," stated Carson Group chief market strategist Ryan Detrick. 

"(Nvidia's) AI business is simply booming more than even the most optimistic analyst expected." 

Meanwhile, investors stuck to bets the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates in June after minutes from the central bank's latest meeting showed a majority of policymakers were concerned about the risks of easing policy too soon.