Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Futures Rise, Nvidia CEO Exit Remains in Focus — CSCO, AMAT, NU in Focus
U.S. stock futures were mixed on Friday, as the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 indices were mixed, after closing lower on Thursday.President Donald Trump said Mexico must stop migrant caravans heading north or , writing on Truth Social that "There will be no leniency," and that Mexico’s tariff would be "Immediately Doubled." Reuters reported that more than 1,500 migrants began marching from southern Mexico toward Mexico City on Tuesday.Separately, CEO Jensen Huang to fight for his job during a Tuesday phone call, two days before Nvidia announced Huang’s resignation; Nvidia said it appointed finance chief Colette Kress interim CEO and named Harvey Jones board chair while launching a permanent successor search.Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 5.12%, and the 2-year Treasury bond yielded 4.85%, at the last check. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing in a 100% likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates after its December meeting.IndexPerformance (+/-)Dow Jones0.06%S&P 5000.07%Nasdaq 100-0.12%Russell 20000.02%The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust , the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust , which track the S&P 500 index, Nasdaq 100 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average, respectively, were mixed in premarket trading on Friday. The SPY was up 0.02% at $757.28, the QQQ declined 0.17% to $686.97, and the DIA rose 0.04% to $522.69.Stocks In FocusCisco SystemsCisco Systems Inc. was 1.72% lower in premarket on Friday after the company reported first-quarter 2027 adjusted earnings of $1.40 per share on revenue of $18.52 billion after the closing bell on Thursday, beating estimates.Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CSCO maintains a negative price trend in the short and medium terms but a positive trend in the long term, with a poor value score.Applied MaterialsApplied Materials Inc. was 0.14% higher in premarket on Friday after the company reported fourth-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $4.16 per share on revenue of $10.41 billion after the closing bell on Thursday, beating estimates.Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that AMAT maintains a negative price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong quality score.Cerebras SystemsCerebras Systems Inc. was 17.70% higher in premarket on Friday after the company reported third-quarter 2026 EPS of -$0.67 on revenue of $210.80 million after the closing bell on Thursday, missing estimates.Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CBRS maintains a negative price trend in the short, medium, and long terms.NuNu Holdings Ltd. was 3.51% higher in premarket on Friday after the company reported third-quarter 2026 EPS of $0.22 on revenue of $5.82 billion after the closing bell on Thursday, a mixed result versus estimates.Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that NU maintains a negative price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong growth score.NVIDIANVIDIA Corp. was 1.87% higher in premarket on Friday as reports and commentary followed Jensen Huang‘s resignation and Nvidia’s appointment of finance chief Colette Kress as interim CEO.Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that NVDA maintains a negative price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong growth score.Cues From Last SessionU.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow dropping over 100 points. Energy led S&P 500 sectors higher, while materials, communication services, and industrials lagged.IndexPerformance (+/-)ValueDow Jones-0.36%52,297.09S&P 500-0.35%7,592.40Nasdaq Composite-0.39%25,366.09Russell 2000-1.66%2,799.06Insights From AnalystsAlex Sagal, global equity analyst, said "Wall Street’s verdict is still out" after the election, arguing that AI demand remains durable but that regulatory and execution risks support a preference for high-quality equities. He wrote that investors should "Maintain equity exposure but await a potentially better entry point before committing additional capital," noting that the recent selloff has not produced "convincing evidence of capitulation or a durable bottom."Sagal said demand for cloud computing continues to exceed available capacity and that AI-related revenue is expanding across cloud services, enterprise applications, and cybersecurity, while election-related uncertainty could complicate data-center buildouts through power usage, utility costs, permitting, and new development. He said he is watching the S&P 500 Index near 7,000 as a potentially more attractive risk-reward entry point.Upcoming Economic DataHere’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Friday.PPI ex. Food/Energy/Transport (YoY), PPI (YoY), and PPI ex. Food/Energy/Transport (MoM) data will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.Fed’s Michelle Bowman will speak at 10:50 a.m. Fed’s Mary Daly will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET. U.S. Baker Hughes Total Rig Count data will be released by 1:00 p.m. ET. and Fed’s Governor Philip Jefferson will speak at 7:00 p.m. ET.Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity MarketsCrude Oil WTI futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.28% to hover around $88.49 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.08% to hover around $95.90 per barrel.Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.42% to hover around $3,896.75 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.04% lower at the 103.1757 level.Bitcoin was trading at $68,913 per coin, lower by 3.44% over the last 24 hours.Asian markets were mixed on Friday, as Australia’s ASX 200, India’s Nifty 50, South Korea’s Kospi, China’s CSI 300, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices fell. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose. European markets were mixed in early trading.Preview Photo courtesy: Shutterstock