Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq nudged higher on Wednesday as investors assessed measured comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and looked ahead to key economic data due later in the week.

Market Snapshot

At 07:57 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis rose 33 points, or 0.07%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 11 points, or 0.16%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis gained 62.25 points, or 0.25%.

Pre-Market Movers

U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba jumped 9.4% after the Chinese e-commerce and tech titan said it would increase spending on artificial intelligence and released a new AI language large model, Qwen3-Max. Without specifying an exact amount, CEO Eddie Wu said the company would invest more than $50 billion on AI and cloud infrastructure. Shares closed up 9.2% in Hong Kong.

Micron Technology fell 1.2% after the memory chip maker reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that topped analysts' estimates. Revenue rose 46% to $11.3 billion in the quarter, with sales from its high-end memory for artificial-intelligence data centers reaching 40% of total revenue in the period, up from 19% from a year earlier. For the current quarter, Micron forecast -- at the midpoint of its guidance -- adjusted earnings of $3.75 a share on revenue of $12.5 billion. Wall Street had been expecting first-quarter earnings of $3.10 a share on revenue of $11.91 billion.

Lithium Americas, which is developing a lithium deposit in Nevada to supply the critical mineral for batteries, soared 72% after Reuters reported the Trump administration was seeking an equity stake of as much as 10% in the Canadian company. The U.S. proposed an equity stake as it renegotiates terms of Lithium Americas' $2.26 billion Energy Department loan for its Thacker Pass lithium project with General Motors. "This is a great critical minerals deal," a Trump administration official told Barron's while declining to provide the exact share of the company that the government was seeking. "It's a small stake," the official said, adding that negotiations were ongoing. Peer lithium producer Albemarle rose 4.3%.

General Motors was up 2.4% at $60. The auto maker received an upgrade to Buy from Neutral at UBS and the price target was increased to $81 from $56.

Amazon.com rose 1.4% to $223.81. Analysts at Wells Fargo upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised their price target to $280 from $245. Wells Fargo expects sales at Amazon Web Services to rise 22% in 2026, according to the Fly.

Kenvue Inc rose 1.4% after gaining 1.6% on Tuesday. Shares hit a record low Monday after President Donald Trump linked Tylenol to autism, urging pregnant women to not take the painkiller despite scientific data that showed it was safe. The Food and Drug Administration said it initiated a safety label change for the drug. Kenvue has declined 19% this year.

Plug Power was down 3.2% in premarket trading after falling 4.5% on Tuesday and snapping a nine-session winning streak. Shares of the provider of hydrogen technology have risen 61% in September.

Thor Industries Inc was rising 6.8% after the recreational-vehicle maker posted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that rose from a year earlier and beat analysts' estimates. Net sales were $2.52 billion, down from $2.53 billion a year earlier but higher than expectations of $2.32 billion.

Market News

Crypto ETFs set to flood US market as regulator streamlines approvals

Asset managers are lining up to launch cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds, capitalizing on growing excitement around digital assets while getting a boost from looser regulatory requirements to bring products to market.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's updated standards for ETFs, announced last week, could encourage demand for exchange-traded products tied to cryptocurrencies ranging from solana to dogecoin.

OpenAI Unveils Plans for Seemingly Limitless Expansion of Computing Power

OpenAI laid out its vision for a vast, $1 trillion build-out of computing warehouses across the U.S. and abroad Tuesday, showcasing the development of a Central Park-sized complex about 180 miles west of Dallas.

A day after the startup announced a $100 billion deal with Nvidia that helped silence naysayers about its finances, OpenAI disclosed that it would ultimately need more than 13 times the computing power of its first nascent site, which is rising out of the Texas brushland.