US futures hover near record highs as Nvidia surges, Trump-Xi summit puts AI in spotlight

Wall Street’s AI-fuelled rally showed no signs of cooling on Thursday, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq hovering near record highs as chip giant Nvidia surged closer to another historic milestone.

Dow Jones rose 0.8%, while S&P 500 picked up 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also climbed 0.2% following a record-setting session Yesterday.

The stock rose nearly 2% in premarket trading after a Reuters report said the US had cleared about 10 Chinese companies to purchase Nvidia’s H200 AI chips, its second-most powerful artificial intelligence processor for China.

The jump briefly pushed the chipmaker’s market capitalisation above $5.5 trillion, further cementing its dominance in the ongoing AI boom.

The gains came despite mounting concerns around sticky inflation and rising oil prices amid the ongoing Iran conflict. Investors instead appeared focused on the high-stakes summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The two leaders opened their two-day talks on Thursday by signalling progress on trade discussions, though Xi warned that tensions over Taiwan could still push bilateral ties toward conflict. AI, semiconductor access and tariffs are expected to dominate the discussions, especially with top US tech executives, including Jensen Huang, Elon Musk and Tim Cook accompanying the American delegation.

The summit is also unfolding against the backdrop of the Iran war, which has rattled global energy markets and revived fears of inflationary pressure. According to reports, both sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open, given its importance to global oil supplies.

Back on Wall Street, investors largely shrugged off another round of hotter-than-expected inflation readings. Data on consumer and producer prices released this week strengthened expectations that the US Federal Reserve could keep interest rates elevated for longer.

Traders are now pricing in more than a 28% probability of a quarter-point rate hike by the end of 2026, up sharply from nearly 21% a week ago, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Chipmakers continued to dominate investor attention, with semiconductor stocks once again emerging as the primary driver of the broader market rally. Alongside Nvidia, companies such as Micron Technology and Amazon have also supported the market’s sharp rebound in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Cisco Systems surged about 15% in premarket trade after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and unveiling an AI-focused restructuring plan that includes nearly 4,000 job cuts.

Investors are now awaiting April retail sales data and weekly jobless claims numbers later in the day for fresh signals on whether rising fuel and energy prices are beginning to weigh on consumer spending and the labour market.