Traders work as the market opens on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on November 18, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Stock futures rose on Wednesday after major U.S. indexes fell in the previous session, driven by pressure in tech. Investors are now readying for Nvidia’s earnings report to inform the strength of the AI trade.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 62 points higher, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.4%.
Tuesday’s session saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 notch their fourth consecutive losing days, with the S&P 500 notching its longest slide since August. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite recorded its fifth negative day in six sessions. Bitcoin briefly dropped below $90,000 on Tuesday before recovering, while gold prices rose from a one-week low.
Most sectors in the broader market closed up higher on Tuesday but key tech names once again weighed on stocks, with hot AI stocks such as Nvidia, Palantir, Microsoft and Advanced Micro Devices closing in the red. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) closed 1.6% lower. Technology and consumer discretionary have been the most beaten-down sectors this month, while health care stands out as the best performer.
Weakness in tech comes ahead of Nvidia’s highly awaited third-quarter results due after Wednesday’s market close. Analysts largely expect that Nvidia — the largest company in the broad-market index — will meaningfully beat Wall Street’s expectations and forecast strong sales growth driven by demand for its AI chips and other infrastructure. But Nvidia has a high bar to beat. Investors have taken profits from their tech holdings in recent days, reflecting heightened concerns that the AI boom has run up the valuations of Nvidia and other tech hyperscalers at an unsustainable pace.
Investors are also waiting for earnings reports from major retailers Target, Lowe’s and TJX Companies on Wednesday morning. Results could give investors a stronger picture of how consumer spending is faring, particularly given the lack of economic data in recent weeks due to the U.S. government shutdown.
“Tech has been flying high this year and so volatility is not surprising. … Volatility amongst tech stocks is also boosted by the fact that there’s a lot of concentration risk, both at the index level and even investor portfolios,” said Sonu Varghese, global macro strategist at Carson Group. “Despite the big gains, investors with concentrated portfolios that are mainly exposed to AI-related stocks remain on edge and susceptible to any pullback. The dynamic is probably made worse as a lot of investors try to diversify at the same time when stocks fall.”
Bitcoin slips again
The volatility in bitcoin continued, with the flagship cryptocurrency falling more than 1% to trade around $91,240. Bitcoin on Tuesday briefly dipped below $90,000 before rebounding.
BTC 5-day chart
— Fred Imbert
Fund managers holding unusually small amount of cash are flashing a sell signal, BofA says
Professional money managers polled by Bank of America in its November Global Fund Manager Survey are holding just 3.7% of assets in cash, flashing a “sell signal,” the bank said.
Investors were too bullish this month, the most overweight in equities since February and the most overweight in commodities since Sept. 2022, BoFA said. That enthusiasm is “a headwind not tailwind for risk assets,” and means the autumn market’s “froth” will continue “to correct further without [a] Fed December rate cut,” strategists led by Michael Hartnett wrote Tuesday. Emerging markets and banks are the “most vulnerable to proper Q4 risk-off move,” they said.
Contrarians view small amounts of cash reserves as bearish for stocks because it means most buying has already been done and there’s little dry powder left on the sidelines that can be further allocated into equities.
The survey covered the period from Nov. 7-13, including some 202 participants running $550 billion in assets under management.
— Scott Schnipper
ON Semiconductor, La-Z-Boy among stocks moving Tuesday evening
Check out the companies moving in after-hours trading:
- La-Z-Boy — Shares of the furniture retailer and manufacturer jumped nearly 7% on the back of strong second-quarter earnings results. La-Z-Boy earned 71 cents per share, on an adjusted basis, which came out significantly higher than the 54 cents per share analysts polled by FactSet expected. The company’s revenue of $522.5 million for the period exceeded the forecasted $517.6 million.
- ON Semiconductor — ON Semiconductor shares rose almost 4% after the company’s board approved a $6 billion stock buyback program over the next three years, beginning on Jan. 1, 2026.
- Dolby Laboratories — Dolby Laboratories dropped 1% after the audio and imaging company’s fiscal first-quarter guidance disappointed the Street. Dolby expects earnings to be between 79 cents and 94 cents per share, excluding items, while analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.15 per share. Dolby also forecasted revenue of between $315 million and $345 million, lower than the $369.2 million consensus estimate. Still, Dolby’s fourth-quarter results beat on top and bottom lines.
— Pia Singh
Constellation Energy shares rise on news of Trump administration loan
Shares of Constellation Energy ticked 2.6% higher in extended trading after the U.S. government said it will back the company with a federal loan.
Department of Energy officials said Tuesday that the Trump administration will provide Constellation Energy with a $1 billion loan to restart the Crane Clean Energy Center nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. The plant, previously known as Three Mile Island Unit 1, is expected to start generating power again in 2027. Constellation unveiled plans to rename and restart the reactor in Sept. 2024 through a power purchase agreement with Microsoft to support the tech company’s data center demand in the region.
The loan would cover the majority to the project’s estimated cost of $1.6 billion. More here.
— Spencer Kimball, Pia Singh