U.S. stock futures advanced ahead of Thursday’s session after Nvidia’s quarterly results lifted sentiment in the tech sector, while Salesforce rallied on an upgraded outlook.
Premarket trading showed the Nasdaq futures up 1.00% and S&P 500 futures up 0.44%, with Nvidia shares climbing 5.9% in extended hours. The chipmaker’s performance helped propel broader tech benchmarks, though gains remained concentrated in the sector. Salesforce shares surged 10% after the company raised its third-quarter revenue guidance to $11.42 billion to $11.5 billion, up to 12% year-over-year, from a prior outlook of $11.2 billion to $11.3 billion. The company also forecast full-year revenue of $50.6 billion to $51.1 billion, above the consensus range. Chief Executive Marc Benioff highlighted continued momentum from the AI tool Agentforce as a driver of growth.
The Swiss Market Index (SMI) fell 0.9% to 14,419 points, pressured by declines in heavyweight components Nestlé (-1.6%), Novartis (-1.1%) and Roche (-0.8%). The broader Swiss Performance Index (SPI) declined 0.7% to 20,296. Givaudan dropped 3.6% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Underweight, citing weaker-than-expected fragrance performance and limited margin expansion potential. Kühne+Nagel fell 2.7% following a report that its Singapore-based subsidiary Apex is under investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security over alleged illegal shipments of Nvidia AI chips to China.
Investor caution ahead of Friday’s remarks by Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole economic symposium weighed on European markets. The focus remains on signals regarding the U.S. interest-rate path, with recent data showing the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, remaining elevated. U.S. personal income rose more than forecast in July, reinforcing expectations for at least one rate hike by the Fed this year. Oil prices eased below $90 per barrel, with Brent crude last trading at $87.08.
In Switzerland, ABB (+0.7%) was among the few gainers, supported by Nvidia’s results, while Accelleron Industries (+2.4%) and Feintool (+4.6%) also advanced following their own earnings updates. Gurit surged 10% to CHF 39.00, its highest level since early July, after reporting strong demand in its aerospace composites segment. The SPI’s decline was tempered by gains in mid-cap industrials and technology-linked names.
Analysts noted that while Nvidia’s results temporarily alleviated concerns about a slowdown in AI-driven growth, profit-taking pressure persisted after the SMI’s seven-day rally. Swissquote described Nvidia’s performance as exceeding even elevated expectations, though broader market sentiment remained cautious amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
