Dow futures surge 260 points: 5 things to know before market opens

US stock index futures climbed on Wednesday morning as a standout earnings beat from Advanced Micro Devices drove a 15% surge in after-hours trading, adding further momentum to a market that closed at record highs the previous session.

A sharp retreat in oil prices provided another tailwind, with Brent crude dropping toward 96 dollars a barrel in pre-market hours as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted the US-Iran ceasefire remained intact, even as skirmishes in the Strait of Hormuz continued.

The combination of robust AI-driven earnings and easing energy prices is keeping equities near all-time peaks despite the persistent geopolitical backdrop.

5 things to know before Wall Street opens

1. Futures at a glance: broad-based gains

S&P 500 futures rose 0.57% to 7,328.50, Dow futures advanced 266 points, or 0.54%, to 49,681 and Nasdaq futures gained 1.10% to 28,445.50 in early Wednesday trade.

The moves extend Tuesday's session, in which the S&P 500 climbed 0.81% to a fresh record close of 7,259.22 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.03% to 25,326.13 — both all-time highs — while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 356 points to close at 49,298.25.

Of the 63% of S&P 500 constituents that have reported first-quarter results so far, 84% have beaten consensus earnings estimates and 81% have exceeded revenue forecasts, according to FactSet.

2. AMD surges 15% on blowout data centre results

The standout post-market mover is Advanced Micro Devices.

AMD reported first-quarter revenue of 10.25 billion dollars, beating the 9.89 billion dollar consensus estimate.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at 1.37 dollars against expectations of 1.29 dollars. For the second quarter, the company guided revenue of approximately 11.2 billion dollars, well above the 10.5 billion dollar analyst forecast.

The stock jumped about 15% in extended trading.

3. Palantir beats but falls; Intel leads the Nasdaq

Not every AI name is following the same script.

Palantir reported first-quarter revenue of 1.63 billion dollars, up 85% year on year and above the 1.54 billion dollar estimate; adjusted earnings per share of 33 cents beat the 28 cent consensus by 18%.

The company raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to 7.65 to 7.66 billion dollars, well above the prior range of 7.18 to 7.20 billion dollars.

Despite the beat, Palantir shares fell nearly 3%, reflecting the stock's demanding valuation — it trades at more than 100 times forward earnings — and lingering concern about the sustainability of its US commercial growth rate following a partial deceleration from the prior quarter.

4. Oil retreats further as Iran ceasefire holds

Crude oil fell sharply in pre-market trading on Wednesday, with WTI down 6.39% to 95.74 dollars a barrel.

Brent crude futures settled 3.99% lower on Tuesday at 109.87 dollars, while WTI dropped 3.9% to 102.27 dollars, after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the ceasefire "certainly holds" and that Iranian activity in the Strait of Hormuz remained "low level."

5. JOLTS data and Fed speakers in focus

Tuesday's JOLTS print offered a broadly reassuring read on the labour market.

Total job openings slipped to 6.87 million in March, down 56,000 from February but slightly above the 6.8 million consensus estimate.

Hiring was brisk, rising by 655,000 to 5.55 million, with the hiring rate climbing 0.4 percentage points to 3.5%.

The data suggests that while the economy is absorbing the drag from higher energy costs, the labour market has not yet deteriorated in a way that would force the Federal Reserve's hand on rate cuts.