Wall Street nudged toward slim gains early on some positive first quarter performances from retailers and ahead of earnings from the chipmaker Nvidia, according to the Associated Press. Futures for the S&P 500 ticked up 0.1% before the bell Wednesday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were largely unchanged. The technology heavy Nasdaq, where Nvidia trades, rose 0.2%.
Macy’s shares rose 3% after the New York department store chain beat Wall Street targets despite posting lower sales and profit than it did in the same quarter a year ago. Macy’s also maintained its sales forecast for the year while acknowledging that consumers have become increasingly cautious about spending due to President Donald Trump’s trade wars.
Dick’s Sporting Goods rose 1.4% after it hit Wall Street profit targets and logged record first quarter sales. Dick’s also reaffirmed its previous 2025 guidance.
Shares of the video game retailer GameStop jumped 6% after announcing that it was raising $1.3 billion in a private offering, with some of the proceeds to be used to buy bitcoin. That follows a similar announcement from President Donald Trump’s media company on Tuesday, which said that it had secured $2.5 billion in a private offering. Trump Media and Technology Group said it planned to build up a bitcoin reserve with the proceeds.
Oil prices rose after the U.S. authorization to Chevron to export crude from Venezuela expired Tuesday. The Trump Administration has been trying to wind down U.S. reliance on Venezuelan energy.
U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 62 cents to $61.51 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 58 cents at $64.15 per barrel.
The dollar rose to 144.45 Japanese yen from 144.36 yen.
