Futures muted in run-up to Nvidia earnings; Target plunges
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Target falls after muted holiday quarter sales forecast
Comcast up after sources say it will proceed with cable channels' spin-off
Futures up: Dow 0.23%, S&P 500 0.16%, Nasdaq 0.21%
Updates with Target results
By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal
Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures treaded water on Wednesday as investors awaited Nvidia's quarterly results, seen as pivotal in sustaining the AI behemoth's record rally, while retailer Target's shares fell after a disappointing forecast.
Nvidia NVDA.O is scheduled to report results after the bell and its shares were up 0.3% in premarket trading, after jumping nearly 5% in Tuesday's session.
Options traders are primed for a nearly $300-billion swing in the company's marketvalue after the results, with options implying an 8.5% swing for the shares in either direction.
"The strong AI demand, particularly for Nvidia’s Blackwell chips, and the robust results from TSM, that builds its chips, hint (Nvidia) results will probably meet and beat expectations," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
"But it's hard to say that good results will lead to a good market reaction. Blackwell delays are the most obvious thing that could go wrong."
Nvidia, which has nearly tripled in value this year, accountedfor about 20% of the S&P 500's .SPX returns over the past year, according to BofA Global Research. The market's reaction to its results is expected to be crucial in determining Wall Street's trajectory as the year winds down.
Meanwhile, Target TGT.N plunged 17.8% after the retailer forecast holiday-quarter comparable sales and profit below Wall Streetexpectations after missing third-quarter estimates.
Retailers such as Dollar Tree DLTR.N and Dollar General DG.N fell 3.7% and 4.6%, respectively, while Walmart WMT.N shed 0.7%.
Other megacaps were mixed, withMicrosoft MSFT.O up 0.7%, while Tesla TSLA.O and Apple AAPL.O fell 0.3% each.
At 07:03 a.m., Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were up 101 points, or 0.23%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 9.75 points, or 0.16%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 43 points, or 0.21%.
Nvidia's gains onTuesday helped the benchmark index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC close higherdespite concerns about escalating Russia-Ukraine tensionshitting risk assets during earlytrading.
Some soothing of geopolitical worries also buoyedstock futures on the day after Reuters reported Russian President Vladimir Putin was open to discussing a Ukraine ceasefire deal with Donald Trump.
Cryptocurrency stocks ticked higher as bitcoin briefly jumped above $94,000, with MicroStrategy MSTR.O and MARA Holdings MARA.O up 3.1% and 2.4%, respectively.
Comments fromFederal Reserve officials includingLisa Cook, Michelle Bowman and Susan Collins are expected through the day, while Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr is scheduled to testifybefore the House Financial Services Committee.
Investors are also watching U.S. President-elect Trump's cabinet picks keenly for clues on the futurepolicy stance.
Trump is expected to announce his pick for Treasury secretary soon. He said on Tuesday he would nominate Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to lead his trade and tariff strategy as head of the Commerce Department.
Comcast CMCSA.O gained 2.6% after sources said the company was moving forward with plans to spin off its NBCUniversal cable television networks, including MSNBC and CNBC.
Delta Airlines DAL.N lost 3.5% after it said it expects 2025 revenue to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage.
Nvidia earnings moves https://reut.rs/40S2EOg
Reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai
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