Futures tracking the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose to record highs on Thursday as Nvidia shares jumped, while investors watched the U.S.-China summit and awaited economic data.
Nvidia rose 1.9% in premarket trading, giving it a market valuation of $5.9 trillion, after Reuters reported the U.S. cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy its H200 AI chip.
A steady rally in tech stocks, particularly chipmakers, has pushed U.S. stocks to new highs despite Middle East conflict and higher inflation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Trump at a two-day summit that trade talks are progressing, but warned tensions over Taiwan could risk conflict.
Trump's visit also comes amid the war with Iran, seeking Beijing's help to end the costly conflict that has driven energy prices up.
At 07:05 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 359 points (0.72%), S&P 500 E-minis up 22 points (0.29%), and Nasdaq 100 E-minis up 82.25 points (0.28%).
"It looks like the market is shrugging off the hotter-than-expected inflation," said Fiona Cincotta of City Index, citing AI and chip stock euphoria.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched another record close on Wednesday. Strong CPI and PPI readings reinforced expectations the Fed will keep policy restrictive for longer.
Traders now see a 28% chance of a quarter-point rate hike by year-end, up from 20.7% a week earlier, per CME FedWatch.
Investors will watch April retail sales and weekly jobless claims for clues on consumer spending and labor market. Cisco surged 16.3% after announcing job cuts and raising revenue forecast.
