US stock futures climbed on Thursday as investors dug into Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings and revenue forecast for insights into the prospects for AI-fueled growth, while bitcoin (BTC-USD) hit yet another record high.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) led the gains, up 0.5%, while S&P 500 futures (ES=F) added 0.5%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) put on 0.5%, coming off a muted day for the major gauges.
Nvidia beat on profit in the third quarter, but the chipmaker forecast its slowest revenue growth in seven quarters as it noted supply chain issues. Those constraints will limit deliveries of the new flagship Blackwell chip, the company said — but will also lead to demand outstripping supply into 2026.
That suggests a revenue boost is just being pushed down the road until the issues ease, some analysts suggested, given the dearth of sizable competitors in AI chip making.
Nvidia shares recovered their pre-market losses, as investors debated the future of the AI boom.
Elsewhere in tech, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) shares edged lower after the DOJ asked a judge to force its Google unit to sell off its Chrome browser. But its antitrust team held off on Android, laying out a choice between divesting the mobile operating system business or adopting stringent remedies.
Weekly jobless claims released on Thursday morning came in at 213,000, a decline from the prior week’s upwardly revised 219,000. Investors used the labor market data to weigh the Federal Reserve’s appetite for interest-rate cuts. Traders are now pricing in a 44% chance of the Fed holding pat at its December meeting, up from about 28% a week ago, per the CME FedWatch tool.
Investors are also on alert for Donald Trump to end the drawn-out wait for his Treasury Secretary pick, as they assess the likely impact of the president-elect’s cabinet choices on prospects for the economy.
Meanwhile, bitcoin climbed to a fresh all-time high above $98,000. The biggest cryptocurrency is closing in on the key $100,000 milestone amid reports that Trump’s team is debating whether to appoint a White House crypto policy chief.
LIVE 5 updates
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Jobless claims hit 7-month low
Weekly jobless claims rose less than expected last week in a sign of cooling in the labor market.
New data from the Department of Labor showed 213,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the week ending Nov. 16, down from 219,000 the week prior and below the 220,000 economists had expected. The weekly claims for unemployment have been falling steadily throughout the past several weeks after hitting their highest level in more than year during October.
Meanwhile, the number of continuing applications for unemployment benefits hit 1.908 million, up 36,000 from the week prior and the highest level since November 2021.
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
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Bitcoin jumps 5% as token inches closer to $100,000
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) jumped more than 5% to a record high Thursday morning, trading just north of $98,000 amid speculation of pro-crypto policies from an incoming Trump administration.
The token has soared roughly 40% since the presidential elections earlier this month, hitting multiple milestones as investors eye the target of $100,000.
Reports that President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has discussed the possibility of a first-ever crypto policy chief for the White House has helped lift the token in the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin has been a key component of the “Trump trade,” as the incoming president has promised to explore crypto-friendly initiatives, including the creation of a national bitcoin stockpile.
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Target’s stock stabilizes after Wednesday pounding
The Target (TGT) ticker page on Yahoo Finance is still seeing strong interest after the stock’s 21.9% post earnings drubbing on Wednesday.
Shares are up slightly in the the pre-market.
From top to bottom, Target’s results flat out stunk. The reality is the stock is likely to stay in the penalty box until Target could deliver at least two quarters of healthy earnings beats on the back of stronger sales.
I think Deutsche Bank analyst Krisztina Katai did a good job summarizing the issues:
“Results indicate a significant deterioration in market share, primarily to Walmart (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN). This, coupled with the necessary investments in infrastructure and supply chain modernization to remain competitive, suggests a longer time-line to recovery than initially projected. While we still believe Target’s long-term potential remains, regaining lost market share will likely require substantial price investments and stepped up promos, pressuring margins and profitability.”
Below I list out several of the challenges Target is up against.
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Key point on Nvidia making the rounds
Nvidia (NVDA) is under a little pressure in the pre-market after earnings last night.
Makes sense as Jensen didn’t blow everyone away with quarterly revenue guidance. But to be clear, the guidance was impressive — just not at the very high-end of some very robust Street estimates.
An important point, however, making the rounds this morning on Nvidia’s margins.
If the sell-off accelerates in the session, it could be a function of some near-term margin concerns as Nvidia ramps production of its latest AI chip Blackwell. Usually during ramp periods costs are elevated, and profit margins not at peak levels.
Notes Keybanc analyst John Vinh:
“Nvidia noted it’s supply constrained on Blackwell in the fiscal fourth quarter, and given the ramp of multiple platforms, expects gross margin to temporarily be in low 70s in fiscal first quarter 2026 before returning to mid-70s in the second half.”
