United States stock futures were little changed on Tuesday evening (Wednesday AEST) following a strong rally that pushed the S&P 500 and the Dow to fresh record closes.
By 10:25 am AEST (12:25 am GMT) Dow futures and S&P 500 futures gained 0.2% apiece while Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 0.1%.
In after-hours trading, SpaceX shares fell 7.7% after the company released its first quarterly results since going public in June.
SpaceX reported a loss of 9 cents per share, narrower than expectations for a 23-cent loss, while revenue reached US$7.81 billion, ahead of forecasts for $6.83 billion.
The company reported capital expenditure of $18.37 billion in the second quarter, largely driven by artificial intelligence investment and representing a 550% increase from the same period a year earlier.
AMD shares declined 8.2% despite the chipmaker reporting slightly better-than-expected earnings and revenue. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.66, compared with expectations of $1.62, while revenue came in at $11.54 billion versus forecasts of $11.31 billion.
Arista Networks climbed 11.2% after second-quarter results exceeded market expectations. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.02, above forecasts of $0.89, while revenue reached $3.04 billion against expectations of $2.83 billion.
Wall Street surged on Tuesday as strong corporate earnings boosted sentiment, while comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the U.S. and Iran could be nearing an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz added to optimism.
Oil prices fell sharply, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropping 5.7% to settle at US$75.77 per barrel.
Caterpillar also supported the equity rally after reporting a stronger-than-expected quarter, boosted by demand linked to the artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout. Shares gained more than 5%.
Palantir Technologies surged nearly 30% after releasing quarterly results that CEO Alex Karp described as “otherworldly.”
Investors will turn their attention to further earnings releases on Wednesday, with Disney, Uber and Eli Lilly among the major companies scheduled to report. E.l.f. Beauty and DoorDash are also due to release results later in the day.
On the economic front, traders will monitor ADP’s private payrolls report for July, with markets expecting private employers added 75,000 jobs during the month.
The S&P Global Services PMI and ISM non-manufacturing data for July are also scheduled for release.
