U.S. stock index futures edged higher Wednesday, boosted by Netflix's strong results and as investors assessed President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
At 05:20 ET (10:20 GMT), Dow Jones Futures gained 50 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures climbed 24 points, or 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 165 points, or 0.8%.
The main Wall Street indices posted strong gains on Tuesday, the first full trading day of the new Trump administration.
Equities were somewhat buoyed by Trump's move to avoid slapping harsh day-one import tariffs on friends and foes alike, although he told reporters he was considering placing levies on Mexico and Canada as soon as February 1. Tariffs on the European Union and a punitive duty on China were also being discussed, Trump said.
Netflix soars on strong Q4 results
The positive sentiment has continued Wednesday, helped by Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares surging more than 14% premarket after the streaming giant reported a record-breaking 19 million new subscriber additions in the fourth quarter of 2024, far surpassing Wall Street’s expectations.
The surge in subscriptions was driven by a series of blockbuster content releases, including widely acclaimed new seasons and original films, as well as the rollout of regionally tailored programming that resonated with diverse global audiences.
Quarterly revenue rose to $9.5 billion, up 8% year-over-year, while net income came in at $915 million, reflecting a 12% growth.
Netflix also announced plans to raise prices for most subscription tiers in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina, citing increased investments in programming.
Enthusiasm over Stargate
In other news, President Trump unveiled a $500 billion joint venture, named Stargate, involving OpenAI, Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), SoftBank (TYO:9984), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), and other tech leaders.
The collaboration aims to construct extensive AI data centers and electricity generation facilities in Texas over the next four years, significantly bolstering the nation's AI capabilities.
In corporate news, GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV), the energy division spun off from General Electric (NYSE:GE), is set to announce its quarterly earnings later in the session, while numbers are also expected from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG).
Additionally, United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) gained more than 4% premarket after the carrier issued beter than expected fourth-quarter results, painting a upbeat outlook.
Crude rebounds
Oil prices rose Wednesday, rebounding after earlier losses on the back of President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to ramp up energy production.
By 05:25 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) climbed 0.6% to $76.28 per barrel, while the Brent contract gained 0.6% to $79.78 a barrel.
The benchmarks retreated on Tuesday after Trump laid out his plan to maximize oil and gas production, including by declaring a national energy emergency to help the rolling back environmental protections, and withdrawing the US from the Paris climate pact.
