Futures tied to the Nasdaq gained on Wednesday as semiconductor-related stocks rose after chip equipment maker ASML's quarterly orders topped estimates, with focus also on a raft of company results and the Federal Reserve's rate verdict later in the day.
The Fed's first interest rate decision of the year is due at 2 p.m. ET, with markets widely expecting the central bank to hold its lending rate steady.
Market Snapshot
At 7:51 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 14 points, or 0.03%, S&P 500 E-minis were flat and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 72.75 points, or 0.34%.
Pre-Market Movers
ASML - U.S.-listed shares of ASML, the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker, rose 6% in premarket trading after fourth-quarter bookings surpassed analysts’ forecasts. Bookings in the period were €7.09 billion ($7.4 billion), down from €9.19 billion a year earlier but well above analysts’ forecasts of about €4 billion. Net profit in the fourth quarter jumped 32% to €2.69 billion as sales rose 28% to €9.27 billion. “The growth in artificial intelligence is the key driver for growth in our industry,” said CEO Christophe Fouquet.
Other Chip Stocks - U.S. chip-equipment maker’s rose following ASML’s earnings report. Lam Research and KLA Corp. rose 3%; Marvell Technology, Micron Technology, Super Micro Computer, Broadcom, ARM Holdings, and TSMC rose 2%; AMD rose 1%.
Nvidia - Nvidia was down 1% in premarket trading after the leading maker of artificial-intelligence chips closed Tuesday with a gain of 8.9%, and its market cap jumped $255.7 billion. The increase in Nvidia shares clawed back some of Monday’s losses of 17%, and a market-cap decline that day of $593 billion (the largest one-day decline for any public company on record), following news that China’s DeepSeek had created a cheaper artificial-intelligence model.
Alibaba - Alibaba was up 3.7% in U.S. premarket trading after the Chinese tech and e-commerce giant released a new version of its AI model,Quen2.5 Max, that it said “achieves competitive performance against the top-tier models,” and surpasses DeepSeek’s AI model across various benchmarks.
Starbucks - Starbucks reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of 69 cents a share, down from 90 cents a year earlier but better than analysts’ expectations of 67 cents a share. Shares of the coffee chain were up 2%. Starbucks said U.S. and global same-store sales declined 4% in the period, the fourth consecutive quarterly decline. “While we’re only one quarter into our turnaround, we’re moving quickly to act on the ‘Back to Starbucks’ efforts and we’ve seen a positive response,” said Chief Executive Brian Niccol.
T-Mobile - T-Mobile posted fourth-quarter earnings of $2.57 a share on revenue of $21.87 billion, topping analysts’ expectations of $2.29 on revenue of $21.33 billion. The telecommunications company reported 903,000 fourth-quarter post-paid phone additions, better than estimates of 858,5000. The stock jumped 8.4%.
Tesla - Tesla was down 0.5% in premarket trading. Shares of the electric-vehicle maker rose 0.2% on Tuesday, snapping a losing streak of five consecutive sessions. The company, led by CEO Elon Musk, is expected by analysts after the closing bell Wednesday to reportfourth-quarter earningsof 75 cents a share, operating profit of $2.7 billion, and sales of $27.2 billion. A year earlier, Tesla reported earnings of 71 cents a share, operating profit of $2.1 billion, and sales of $25.2 billion.
Microsoft - Microsoft slipped 0.1% in premarket trading. The software giant is scheduled to report fiscal second-quarter earnings after the close of trading Wednesday. Analysts expect Microsoft to report earnings of $3.11 a share on revenue of $68.9 billion, compared with year-earlier profit of $2.93 a share on revenue of $62 billion. The company’s massive spending on AI will be a focus for investors, particularly after the DeepSeek developments.
Meta Platforms - Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will be posting fourth-quarter earnings after the stock market closes. While the numbers will be closely watched, investors also will want to know CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s thoughts on DeepSeek’s AI model and whether Meta’s aggressive 2025 capital program remains warranted. Shares of Meta rose 0.6% in premarket trading.
F5 Inc - F5 Inc. jumped 14% after the multi-cloud software company reported fiscal first-quarter that topped analysts’ estimates and said it expects fiscal 2025 revenue to grow 6% to 7%, up from a previous outlook of 4% to 5%. F5 forecast adjusted per-share earnings to increase 6.5% to 8.5%, up from prior guidance of 5% to 7%.
NEXTracker - Nextracker, a provider of solar tracker systems and software, surged 23% after raising its fiscal 2025 outlook following fiscal third-quarter earnings that rose to $115.3 million from $41.4 million a year earlier.
LendingClub - LendingClub tumbled 22%. The web-based lending company postedfourth-quarter profitof $9.7 million, or 8 cents a share, down from $10.2 million, or 9 cents a share, a year earlier. The company’s provision for credit losses rose to $63.2 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of 51% from a year earlier.
Rivian - Rivian Automotive was down 2% after analysts at Bernstein initiated coverage of the electric-vehicle company at Underperform with a price target of $6.10.
Moderna - Moderna declined 3%. Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded shares of the vaccine maker to Neutral from Buy and reduced their price target to $51 from $99.
Globalstar - Apple's iPhone devices are now eligible to test SpaceX-owned Starlink's direct-to-cell capability that provides coverage from space, according to T-Mobile, a partner in the program. This partnership, announced without much fanfare, offers iPhone users an alternative to Apple’s existing satellite connectivity service from Globalstar and marks a significant win for Musk’s SpaceX. Satellite operator shares sank 20% in premarket trading.
Reddit - Social media firm Reddit's shares rose 3% in premarket trading. Jefferies hiked target price to $230 from $215.
Faraday Future - EV maker Faraday Future announced that it has received the full net proceeds from the $30 million previously committed financing announced in December 2024. Faraday Future shares surged 12% in premarket trading.
Market News
ASML Orders Beat Estimates as Concern Over DeepSeek's AI Grows
ASML Holding NV's orders in the fourth quarter beat estimates as the artificial intelligence boom drove demand for its chipmaking machines, potentially easing concerns sparked by Chinese startup DeepSeek.
The Dutch company reported order bookings of €7.09 billion ($7.4 billion) in the period, it said in a statement on Wednesday. That compares with an average estimate of €3.53 billion by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
The results came after ASML's market capitalization fell by more than €19 billion on Monday on concern that DeepSeek’s latest AI model can provide comparable performance to Western chatbots at a fraction of the price. ASML makes machines needed to produce some high-end chips that the Chinese company is barred from purchasing.
Microsoft Probing If DeepSeek-Linked Group Improperly Obtained OpenAI Data
Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI are investigating whether data output from OpenAI's technology was obtained in an unauthorized manner by a group linked to Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek, according to people familiar with the matter.
Microsoft's security researchers in the fall observed individuals they believe may be linked to DeepSeek exfiltrating a large amount of data using the OpenAI application programming interface, or API, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Software developers can pay for a license to use the API to integrate OpenAI’s proprietary artificial intelligence models into their own applications.
Microsoft, an OpenAI technology partner and its largest investor, notified OpenAI of the activity, the people said. Such activity could violate OpenAI's terms of service or could indicate the group acted to remove OpenAI's restrictions on how much data they could obtain, the people said.
White House Evaluates Effect of China AI App DeepSeek on National Security
U.S. officials are looking at the national security implications of the Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday, while President Donald Trump's crypto czar said it was possible that intellectual property theft could have been at play.
The National Security Council is reviewing the app's implications, Leavitt said. "This is a wake-up call to the American AI industry," she added, echoing Trump's comments from a day earlier while also saying the White House was working to "ensure American AI dominance."
Investors sold technology stocks across the globe on Monday over concerns the emergence of a low-cost Chinese AI model would threaten market dominance of U.S.-based AI leaders such as OpenAI and Alphabet's Google.
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