U.S. stock index futures edged higher Wednesday as investors cautiously awaited quarterly earnings from a number of major companies, including from AI bellwether Nvidia. 

At 05:20 ET (10:20 GMT), Dow Jones Futures gained 68 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures advanced 10 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 40 points, or 0.2%.

The main averages on Wall Street advanced in the prior session, as concerns about artificial intelligence disruption across several industries dissipated. 

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.8%, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite rose nearly 1.1% to 22,863.68 points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.8%. 

Nvidia to test market’s confidence 

Sentiment received a boost Tuesday after Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) announced a multi-year deal with Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), as well as Anthropic detailing a wave of partnerships, which helped to soothe some concerns around widespread disruption to software and data stocks from the AI startup’s newest models.

However, this optimism will be tested later in the session with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), the world’s most valuable company, set to report its latest results after the close. These numbers are largely expected to act as a bellwether for the AI industry and chip demand, and are likely to act a signpost for the direction of global stock markets now entwined with the nascent technology.

"It’s not only Nvidia investors who will be nervous ahead of the company’s results; the entire global equity market may be on edge, given the importance of the AI trade," said Laurence Booth, Global Head of Markets at CMC Markets.

The chip maker has outpaced sales forecasts for 13 straight quarters, and thus it’s the size of the beat that is likely to matter to investors. Forecasts are for profits to rise 62% in the quarter to end January, and revenue to jump 68%, according to LSEG data.

Elsewhere, results from the likes of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) are also due following the closing bell on Wall Street.

Among major aftermarket movers, HP (NYSE:HPQ) stock fell 5% after the PC developer presented an underwhelming outlook for 2026 amid headwinds from U.S. trade regulations and surging memory chip prices. 

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) fell over 8% after the enterprise software maker forecast downbeat revenue as corporations pull back on spending amid broader macroeconomic uncertainty. 

Trump’s State of the Union speech

Away from the corporate sector, uncertainty around the fate of President Donald Trump’s tariffs remains, after he imposed temporary 10% global duties following a Supreme Court decision striking down his so-called "reciprocal" levies.

At a State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump said "everything was working well" with his tariff agenda, adding that the Supreme Court ruling was "unfortunate."

Beyond tariffs, Trump spoke on a wide range of topics, from his administration’s attempts to curb inflation to ongoing peace negotiations with Iran. 

The president is grappling with increasing voter dissatisfaction over his handling of the economy, especially in curbing the high cost of living. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released on Sunday found only 39% of respondents approved his job as president so far, while 58% disapproved his handling of immigration. 

Crude near seven-month highs 

Oil prices hovered near seven-month highs ahead of nuclear deal negotiations between Iran and the U.S. in Switzerland later this week.

Brent futures climbed 0.5% to $70.92 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.5% to $65.93 a barrel.

Both contracts remain close to their highest levels since early August as the U.S. has positioned military forces in the Middle East to compel Iran to agree to an end to its nuclear program.

U.S. envoys, including special representative Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, are due to meet Iranian counterparts on Thursday.