U.S. stock futures edge lower as investors await debt-ceiling news, inflation data

What’s driving markets

Technology stocks surged on Thursday after Nvidia’s
NVDA,
+24.37%
optimistic, artificial intelligence-fueled outlook that saw the chipmaker’s stock leap 24%.

Another microchip maker, Marvell Technology
MRVL,
+7.59%,
rose in premarket trade after saying AI has emerged as a key growth driver.

But beyond the AI frenzy, concerns lingered that the U.S. would not agree to raise the debt ceiling, though reports indicate progress in talks between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. House Republicans have already left Washington ahead of the holiday weekend.

While Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. could run out of money as early as June 1, other projections estimate the federal government may have until the middle of the month.

“I think we’ll all be able to exhale by mid-June, although it will likely be an increasingly volatile market environment between now and then,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco. “Once that drama recedes, I think all eyes will be back on central banks.”

The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the PCE price index, is due for release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, alongside personal income and consumer spending numbers.

Companies in focus

• Marvell Technology Inc.’s stock
  MRVL,
  +7.59%
  was powering 14% higher in premarket action after the chip company said it expected revenue from artificial intelligence to at least double this fiscal year.

• Gap Inc. shares
  GPS,
  -2.50%
  rallied 12% after the retailer took Wall Street by surprise and posted an adjusted profit of a penny a share.

• Ford Motor Co. shares
  F,
  +0.44%
   rose 1% after announcing that its electric-vehicle owners soon will have access to the more than 12,000 Tesla Inc. 
  TSLA,
  +0.86%
  Superchargers in the U.S. and Canada starting next year.

• Workday Inc. shares
  WDAY,
  +0.11%
  jumped 8% and headed toward their highest prices in more than a year, after the software company easily topped earnings expectations and brought on a new chief financial officer.