Wall St futures steady after Nvidia-led gains; Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech looms

U.S. stock indices remained relatively stable on Thursday evening as gains from Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) strong earnings overshadowed other market movements. The S&P 500 Futures fell marginally to 7,734.75 points, while the Nasdaq 100 Futures slipped slightly to 29,644.75 points by 20:47 ET (00:47 GMT). The Dow Jones Futures held steady at 53,625.0 points.

Nvidia's shares surged 8.7% following the chipmaker's optimistic revenue forecast, contributing to a broader technology rally and alleviating worries about potential slowdown in artificial intelligence spending. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.6%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.2%. The positive momentum was predominantly driven by technology and AI-related stocks, including Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD), which also experienced notable gains.

With Nvidia projecting sustained revenue growth, investor confidence in the demand for AI infrastructure bolstered semiconductor shares. As attention now turns to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's upcoming speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, markets are keen to gauge the central bank's stance on inflation and interest rates, especially in light of persistent price pressures highlighted by recent economic data.

The stock market had been cautious earlier in the week amid hotter-than-anticipated inflation figures, which reignited concerns about the Fed's capacity to ease monetary policy. Crude oil prices also rose on Thursday due to geopolitical tensions. Separately, Gap (NYSE:GAP) shares surged over 13% following the apparel retailer's stronger-than-expected adjusted second-quarter earnings, with Michael Francis set to become CEO of the Old Navy brand.

However, Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) shares slipped about 7% despite a robust outlook from the chipmaker, as its non-GAAP gross margin forecast fell short of expectations.