Stock futures rise on news of upcoming U.S.-China trade talks

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Stock futures advanced Wednesday as investors monitored the latest updates on U.S. trade negotiations and looked toward the Federal Reserve interest rate announcement expected later in the day. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 226 points, or 0.6%. S&P 500 futures popped 0.6%, along with Nasdaq 100 futures.

🏦 All eyes on Powell as Fed grapples with Trump tariff dilemma: The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at the conclusion of its policy meeting Wednesday, but the path forward is anything but certain for Jerome Powell. Investors will be listening closely to the central bank chairman at a 2:30 p.m. ET press conference for any hints on future monetary policy actions after President Trump spent the last few weeks repeatedly calling for the Fed to lower rates while also lobbing insults at Powell. Yahoo Finance reports.

🚙 Tesla's China-made EV sales fall 6% Year on Year in April as woes deepen: Tesla's China-made electric vehicle sales fell 6% in April from a year earlier, extending declines for a seventh month, as the U.S. automaker grapples with intense competition from its Chinese rivals and a tarnished image in Europe. Market Screener reports.

💰 US companies plot $500 billion share buyback spree: US companies are planning to buy back a record $500 billion of their own shares, as they seek to deploy their huge cash piles at a time when President Donald Trump’s policies are adding to uncertainty over making capital investments. Companies listed on the blue-chip S&P 500 index said last week they expect to repurchase $192 billion of their stock over the coming months, the highest weekly figure in data going back to 1995, according to Deutsche Bank. Financial Times reports.

🛢️ Oil extends gain with US and Chinese officials set to talk trade: Oil pushed higher after rallying more than 3% in the previous session as the US and China agreed to start trade negotiations, raising optimism that tensions between the world’s two biggest economies may ease. Yahoo Finance reports.

🐭 Disney lifts profit outlook after delivering solid parks, streaming results: Disney reported fiscal second quarter earnings on Wednesday that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines, driven by a rebound in its domestic parks business and strong performance in its streaming unit. The company raised its full-year profit forecast to $5.75 a share, up 16% from fiscal 2024 and roughly double its prior guidance for high single-digit growth. Analysts had expected 2025 adjusted EPS to come in at $5.44. Shares jumped about 6% in early pre-market trading. Yahoo Finance reports.

💊 Novo Nordisk shares jump 5% as drugmaker sees copycat Wegovy sales easing in 2025: Shares of Novo Nordisk climbed 5% on Wednesday after it said sales of its blockbuster Wegovy weight loss drug were seen improving in the second half of the year as the availability of copycat compounded drugs is phased out. The Danish pharmaceutical giant reported lower-than-expected first-quarter sales of its flagship obesity drug and trimmed its full-year sales growth forecast as alternative versions of the drug have eaten away at its U.S. market share. CNBC reports.

🚗 Uber stock falls as first-quarter revenue miss clouds upbeat forecasts: Uber Technologies missed first-quarter revenue estimates on Wednesday, but forecast current-quarter gross bookings above Wall Street expectations, indicating resilient demand for its ride-hailing and food delivery services. Yahoo Finance reports.

💻 Tech giant Seagate sees hard drive capacity tripling by 2030 on booming AI demand: Data storage firm Seagate is working to develop a 100-terabyte hard drive by 2030, touting blistering demand from data centers for the 70-year-old technology in the artificial intelligence boom. CNBC reports.

🚀 SpaceX gets FAA permission for fivefold increase in Starship launches from Texas: SpaceX has been granted permission by the Federal Aviation Administration to launch and land its massive Starship rockets and Super Heavy boosters up to 25 times per year from the company’s Starbase spaceport in Texas. The aerospace and defense contractor run by Elon Musk was previously restricted to five Starship launches per year from the site. While SpaceX submitted the proposal to increase its launch cadence on the Texas Gulf Coast during the Biden administration, a final environmental assessment was just announced on Tuesday, more than three months into President Donald Trump’s term. CNBC reports.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on Early Pre-Market from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM Eastern Time)
Benzinga reports.

1) $NCEW: New Century Logistics

Total gain: +79.82%

2) $MEGL: Magic Empire Global

Total gain: +75.42%

3) $NTCL: Netclass Technology

Total gain: +44.57%

4) $NCRA: Nocera

Total gain: +37.03%

5) $KZIA: Kazia Therapeutics

Total gain: +23.91%

The closing price of the top three market percent gainers trading near or above $3 on May 6.

*All pricing and percent gains are based on regular market trading hours from 9:30am to 4:00pm Eastern Time

1) $PONY: Pony AI

Total gain: +47.98%

The company and Uber Technologies announced a strategic partnership to deploy Pony.ai’s Robotaxis onto the Uber platform. Yahoo Finance reports.

2) $TDUP: ThredUp

Total gain: +47.52%

The company announced today its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, and provided an updated full-year 2025 financial outlook. Revenue totaled $71.3 million, representing a 10% year-over-year increase. Yahoo Finance reports.

3) $EVGO: EVgo

Total gain: +32.49%

The company announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, reporting revenue of $75.3 million. Yahoo Finance reports.

Time (ET) / Report / Period

2:00 pm - FOMC meeting

2:30 pm - Fed Chair Powell press conference

“If you want to go somewhere, it is best to find someone who has already been there.”

- Robert T. Kiyosaki

Sourced in: “Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant: Guide to Financial Freedom”, by Robert T. Kiyosaki,
published in 1998.