US stock futures steady after record highs; Nividia, Fed minutes awaited

Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures moved little in evening deals on Tuesday after persistent strength in technology stocks, ahead of key earnings from market darling Nvidia, saw Wall Street just about clock new highs.

But investors remained on edge before more cues on interest rates, chiefly from the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s late-April meeting, which were due on Wednesday. 

S&P 500 Futures steadied at 5,346.50 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose slightly to 18,811.75 points by 19:13 ET (23:13 GMT). Dow Jones Futures inched higher to 40,016.00 points. 

Fed minutes awaited as officials stick to cautious stance on rates

The Fed minutes are due during Wednesday’s session, and come following a string of cautious signals from members of the central bank.

The Fed kept rates steady during the meeting and warned that inflation was turning sticky. But it had also still mentioned the possibility of interest rate cuts this year, a statement that markets had clung to.

Still, several Fed officials cautioned this week that the central bank needed much more confidence that inflation was easing, before it could begin trimming rates. But they also downplayed speculation that the bank would increase rates further.

Beyond the minutes, more Fed officials are also set to speak in the coming days. The central bank is now expected to potentially begin cutting rates in September.

Nasdaq, S&P hit record highs ahead of Nvidia earnings 

Wall Street indexes eked out some gains on Tuesday, boosted chiefly by the technology sector as investors positioned for hotly anticipated earnings from NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA). 

The chipmaker is widely considered as a bellwether for the rapidly-growing artificial intelligence industry, and is expected to clock exponential growth in earnings on the back of demand from the industry. 

Nvidia currently makes the most advanced AI chips available in the market, and is expected to have benefited substantially from major tech companies racing to further their AI plans. 

Anticipation of Nvidia's earnings saw investors buy further into technology stocks.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to a record-high close of 5,321.41 points, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.2% to a record-high 16,832.62 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 39,872.99 points. 

Nvidia, which also shot up to become the third-most valuable company on Wall Street, hovered just below a record high in aftermarket trade.