Futures linked to the main U.S. stock indices point slightly higher, with earnings from Nvidia and Salesforce looming large. Both of the results come as worries have swirled around the ramifications of the artificial intelligence boom on scores of companies across a range of industries. Elsewhere, gold and oil gain as attention turns to a key meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials on Thursday.

1. Futures subdued

U.S. stock futures were muted on Wednesday, as investors geared up for a slate of major corporate earnings reports, including results from artificial intelligence-darling Nvidia.

By 03:01 ET (08:01 GMT), the Dow futures contract was mostly unchanged, S&P 500 futures had gained 5 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had climbed by 29 points, or 0.1%.

The main averages on Wall Street advanced in the prior session, buoyed by Anthropic’s announcement of a wave of partnerships, which helped to soothe some concerns around widespread disruption to software and data stocks from the AI startup’s newest models.

Such fears have come to dominate much of the focus in recent weeks, with many investors worrying that Anthropic’s products and similar offerings from other AI firms could dent demand for software services.

At the same time, traders have kept an eye on a spending spree on AI infrastructure by a slew of mega-cap tech companies — and have been questioning both when these expenditures will reap significant financial benefits and the often “circular” nature of recent deals in the AI sector.

Underscoring these trends, Meta said it had agreed to purchase 6 gigawatts’ worth of AI computing power from Advanced Micro Devices as part of a $100 billion deal which may result in the Instagram-parent owning 10% of the chipmaker’s stock. Shares of AMD, which argued that the accord will help it compete with main rival Nvidia, jumped.

Bubbling in the background, meanwhile, is uncertainty around the fate of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, after he imposed temporary 10% global duties following a Supreme Court decision striking down his so-called “reciprocal” levies. At a State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump said “everything was working well” with his tariff agenda, adding that the Supreme Court ruling was “unfortunate.”

2. Nvidia to report

Nvidia now steps into the spotlight, as analysts wait for results which have become a bellwether for the worldwide AI trade and a signpost for the direction of global stock markets now entwined with the nascent technology.

The report, set to be released after the close of U.S. markets, comes as shares of so-called “Magnificent Seven” mega-cap tech players have largely stalled so far this year. The cohort had zoomed higher since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022 sparked a boom in enthusiasm around AI.

Many of these names have been viewed as major winners from the rise of AI, and the surge in the stocks have largely been the fuel for wider stock market gains in recent years. But that narrative has taken a hit in the early months of 2026.

“It’s not only Nvidia investors who will be nervous ahead of the company’s results; the entire global equity market may be on edge, given the importance of the AI trade,” said Laurence Booth, Global Head of Markets at CMC Markets.

3. Salesforce ahead

Elsewhere on the earnings docket, Salesforce will also unveil its quarterly results following the closing bell on Wall Street.

The cloud-based software group has been one of the central victims of the jitters around the emergence of powerful, cutting-edge AI models. Shares of the San Francisco-based company have shed more than 26% of their value year-to-date, underlining investor nervousness around the outlook for the broader software-as-a-service industry.

Against this backdrop, sentiment is “gloomy” around the stock heading into the returns, and was darkened further by an underwhelming forecast from IT services business Workday on Tuesday night, analysts at Vital Knowledge said in a note.

“[T]he AI-linked medium/long-term existential overhang weighing on all of software will not go away anytime soon,” the analysts flagged.

However, should Salesforce post “decent” fourth-quarter earnings, provide “respectable” current-year guidance, and “demonstrate” more progress with its AI products, “the stock (and the whole software-as-a-service group) could extend the squeeze higher witnessed on Tuesday,” they added.

4. Gold edges up

Gold prices rose, after declining in the previous session amid profit booking, as investors assessed the impact of newly imposed U.S. tariffs and awaited U.S.-Iran talks later this week.

Spot gold was last up 0.9% at $5,190.21 an ounce. U.S. gold futures gained 0.6% to $5,209.51/oz. The yellow metal fell 1.6% on Tuesday after four straight sessions of gains.

The U.S. began collecting a temporary 10% global import tariff on Tuesday, with the Trump administration reportedly working to formally increase the levy to 15%, a move that has stoked uncertainty over global trade and inflation. The tariff action followed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week that struck down earlier sweeping duties imposed under emergency powers, prompting the Trump administration to reintroduce tariffs under an alternative legal authority.

Geopolitical tensions were also in play. The U.S. and Iran due to hold a third round of talks later this week in Geneva over Tehran’s nuclear program.

5. Oil ticks higher

Oil prices hovered near seven-month highs ahead of the negotiations in Switzerland.

Brent futures climbed 0.4% to $70.86 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.5% to $65.93 a barrel.

Both contracts remain close to their highest levels since early August as the U.S. has positioned military forces in the Middle East to compel Iran to agree to an end to its nuclear program.

U.S. envoys, including special representative Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, are due to meet Iranian counterparts on Thursday.