NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock futures edged higher Wednesday morning, helped by strong corporate earnings reports and hopes for a deal setting the stage for talks that might eventually end the fighting in Iran.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.3 per cent, while S&P 500 futures added 0.4 per cent. Nasdaq futures gained 0.2 per cent.
The Walt Disney Co. reported on Wednesday that a US$1 billion box office haul from “Toy Story 5,” as well as strong results at its U.S. theme parks, helped drive up profits in the quarter ended in June. The stock gained 3.4 per cent in the premarket.
Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill rose 1.8 per cent in the premarket, a day after sinking nearly 10 per cent. The restaurant chain said Tuesday it removed jalapeños from some of its restaurants after determining the peppers could potentially be tied to a salmonella outbreak public health officials are investigating.
Offsetting those gains were losses for SpaceX, which shed more than 10 per cent. Late Tuesday SpaceX reported a smaller loss than Wall Street expected along with a surge in revenue in its first quarterly report as a public company. Capital expenditures reached US$18.4 billion, with the vast majority of that spending going toward AI. That spending reached nearly US$16 billion.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come as early as Wednesday, as Iran and Oman inched toward an agreement on the critical waterway that could ease pressure on the global economy.
Still, oil prices resumed their ascent. Brent crude, the international standard, reversed early losses, gaining 1.15 per cent to US$80.28 per barrel early Wednesday. On Tuesday, it sank 5.3 per cent as hopes rose for progress toward a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices swung between US$72 and US$102 through July on uncertainty about when calm in the Middle East would allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf again to deliver crude around the world.
Benchmarks jumped more than 3 per cent in Tokyo and Seoul as shares in computer chipmakers and other AI-related companies advanced.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 3.7 per cent with chipmaker Kioxia surging 4.2 per cent while chip testing equipment maker Advantest soared 8.8 per cent.
The Kospi in Seoul shot up 3.8 per cent, led by a 5.8 per cent gain for memory chipmaker SK Hynix. Tech giant Samsung Electronics advanced 2.5 per cent.
“Clearly today the market is rallying on the back of AI stocks. You look across the other sectors, there’s a bit of activity here and there, but really the focus has been back on semiconductors, technology and AI,” said Neil Newman, head of strategy for Astris Advisory Japan.
Elsewhere in the region, the Shanghai Composite index picked up 1.5 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.3 per cent.
In European trading, Germany’s DAX rose 0.2 per cent while the CAC 40 in Paris edged less than 0.1 per cent higher. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.02 per cent
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 shot up 1.8 per cent, topping its prior all-time high set in June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.7 per cent to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.6 per cent.
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Elaine Kurtenbach, The Associated Press. Associated Press writer Mayuko Ono in Tokyo contributed to this report.
