U.S. equity futures pointed to a softer open on Wednesday as traders sidestepped fresh risk ahead of Nvidia Corp.'s (NVDA) quarterly report and a heavy slate of macro data headlined by the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.06%, while those for Nasdaq 100 were 0.16% lower, as traders held back from taking risk ahead of the latest earnings report from Nvidia, a bellwether for the artificial-intelligence (AI) trade.
Treasuries remained flat cross the curve ahead of July's print of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, and crude futures were lower for a third straight session. The dollar was little changed, while gold and Bitcoin extended their slide. The tone follows Tuesday's mild rebound on Wall Street, when the S&P 500 rose slightly (+0.32%) as Treasury yields fell for a second day, a rally in semiconductor stocks lifted the Nasdaq Composite to close at 26,151.30 (+0.66%), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 160.24 points, or 0.3%, to close at 53,577.40 and notch its third straight winning session.
Premarket Snapshot
Premarket levels — as of ~7:00 a.m. ET, Aug. 26, 2026
| Instrument | Level / Move |
|---|---|
| S&P 500 futures | 7,687.50 (-0.06%) |
| Nasdaq 100 futures | 29,231.50 (-0.16%) |
| Dow Jones futures | 53,651.00 (+0.01%) |
| US 10-year Treasury yield | 4.643% (marginally higher) |
| WTI crude futures | $80.32 (-2.48%) |
| Brent crude futures | $85.99 (-2.92%) |
| Gold futures | $4,679.90 (-0.31%) |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 99.03 (+0.11%) |
| Cboe VIX | 15.69 (+1.55%) |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $78,689.62 (-0.54%) |
MarketFramework’s Positioning Edge tool shows a notable divergence in retail positioning. At 6:50, profitable traders were 57.1% long, versus just 44.8% long among unprofitable traders, leaving a 12.3 percentage-point gap. Across all traders, positioning was essentially balanced at 50.9% long, suggesting the headline aggregate masks a meaningful difference in positioning quality.
The broader signal is therefore constructive rather than outright bullish. The traders with a stronger track record are leaning long while the less-profitable cohort is relatively short.
US Stocks in Focus
Nvidia (NVDA) is the marquee event. Nvidia will report its fiscal 2027 second-quarter earnings after the close, with analysts calling for earnings of $2.09 per share, nearly double what the chipmaker reported one year ago, and revenue forecast at $92.18 billion, up 97.2% year over year. Ahead of the print, Nvidia stock closed up 2.2% on Tuesday, snapping a seven-day losing streak. The stock is up over 0.30% in premarket.
Chipmakers and AI infrastructure names remain sensitive to the Nvidia read-through after chip stocks rose as a group on Tuesday, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) climbing 1.65%.
Shares of after-the-bell reporting companies moved sharply following their quarterly results announced on Tuesday.
Box (BOX) shares climbed nearly 5% following the company's revenue beat and positive guidance. Zoom Communications (ZM) fell more than 6% as traders reacted to the communication services company's lukewarm guidance.
Tax preparation and accounting software provider Intuit (INTU) and SaaS company nCino (NCNO) also declined sharply after their quarterly earnings release.
Prominent names reporting before the market close include Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), J.M. Smucker (SJM), Kohl's (KSS), Li Auto (LI) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM).
Salesforce (CRM), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Synopsys (SNPS), HP (HPQ), Okta (OKTA), and Agilent (A) are all lined up to report after the close on Wednesday.
Macro Data Preview
Wednesday's docket is dense. The day brings July PCE and core PCE, July personal income and spending, the second quarter GDP second estimate, July durable orders.
The PCE reading is the swing factor for rate-cut pricing, particularly after Treasury yields steadied on Tuesday as investors await more data releases for insights into the U.S. economic picture.
Asia Wrap — Wednesday, Aug. 26
Asian equities finished mostly firmer on Wednesday, tracking the late U.S. rebound and positioning ahead of Nvidia. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.62% to 66,262.16, with shares of technology investor SoftBank Group climbing 1.4%; South Korea's Kospi also reversed its early losses to gain 0.97% to 6,808.21, as traders returned to technology stocks and snapped up beaten-down shares.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.56% to 25,652/97, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.59% to 3,912.52. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.40% to 9,127.80, while Taiwan's Taiex jumped 1.47%.
Europe — Early Trend
European markets opened cautiously as regional benchmarks digested pre-Nvidia positioning and firmer sovereign yields. The Euro STOXX 50 was up 0.27% and the STOXX Europe 600 added 0.15% by the mid-session.
The broader tape still sits close to record territory, with the EURO STOXX 50 and DAX trading near record highs and the CAC 40 close to its peak, despite August historically being one of Europe's weakest months for equities.
