Wall Street Futures Stabilize as Nvidia Recovers and PPI Rises
Wall Street futures edge higher as markets recover from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's departure. Meanwhile, U.S. producer price inflation hits 6.5% ahead of the Fed's rate decision.
Wall Street stock futures point to a stable to slightly positive opening as markets attempt to recover from sharp losses triggered by the dramatic departure of Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang. Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones futures are climbing by about 0.1%.
Despite turmoil in the semiconductor sector, major indexes are on track to record their best week since early August, with the Nasdaq heading for a weekly gain of approximately 3.2%. Nvidia shares remain in focus following a 4.3% plunge due to Huang's resignation amid personal controversies, including ties to a woman suspected of being a Chinese agent. The stock shows a mild recovery in pre-market trading, rising about 2.3%, while longtime CFO Colette Kress has been appointed interim CEO while the board seeks a permanent successor.
Macroeconomic data shows U.S. producer price inflation reached 6.5%, up from 6.3% last month but below market expectations. Producer prices rose 0.3% this month, significantly less than last month's 1.4% and below forecasts. The report arrives weeks ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming rate decision on December 8-9, where markets fully price in a quarter-point rate hike.
In the broader tech sector, Microsoft shares dropped about 3% in pre-market trading following a widespread global outage affecting cloud services like Outlook, Teams, and Copilot. The company reported early signs of stabilization and ruled out a cyberattack. Meanwhile, in the crypto market, Bitcoin dropped below $70,000 for the first time since August, trading around $69,200, while Brent crude oil hovered near $95.8 a barrel following signals from Donald Trump regarding economic pressure on Iran.
