5 things to know before the stock market opens

Stock futures are rising as the market looks to extend its winning streak to three straight days. Markets will be closed tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday and will have an abbreviated trading session on Friday; Nvidia has responded to reports that Google’s AI chips are being considered by other tech giants; HP plans to reduce the size of its workforce; And Urban Outfitters shares rose after the retailer reported strong earnings and made encouraging comments about its outlook for the holiday season. Here’s what you need to know today.

Stock futures rose as the market looked to extend the recent rally

Stock futures point to a slightly higher open for the major indexes this morning after two straight days of strong gains. Stocks rose this week — after falling sharply last week on concerns about artificial intelligence trading — as investors became more optimistic that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates at its next policy meeting in two weeks. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% recently, while futures tied to the S&P 500 and the tech-focused Nasdaq rose 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. Gold futures rose 0.7% to $4,170 an ounce, posting gains for the fourth straight day, while crude oil futures fell slightly to around $58 a barrel. Bitcoin was trading at $86,500 recently, down from an overnight high of just over $88,000. The 10-year Treasury yield, which affects borrowing costs on all types of loans, was 4.02%, up from 4.00% at yesterday’s close.

The markets will take a break on Thursday for Thanksgiving, and will close early on Friday

Traders will be able to take a break this week after a recent period of volatile trading. US stock and bond markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and trading schedules will be shortened on Friday, closing at 1pm and 2pm respectively. Then, the next market holidays towards the end of the year come with the same shortened trading hours as Black Friday on December 24, and no activity on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Nvidia responds to report of potential demand for Google AI chips

Nvidia (NVDA) stock fell on Tuesday and was down slightly in premarket trading on Wednesday after a report suggested its chipmaking dominance in the artificial intelligence sector may be in question. Report from the technology news outlet Information Meta Platforms (META) is considering using AI chips made by Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL), a market that Nvidia has dominated for the past several years, he said. Nvidia responded to the report on Tuesday, saying on social media that the company is “thrilled with Google’s success — they’ve made great progress in AI and we continue to supply Google.” However, Nvidia said its products are still “a generation ahead of the industry” and more flexible and powerful than Google’s chips.

HP announces layoffs as part of a $1 billion cost-cutting effort

Shares of HP (HPQ) fell this morning after the computer and printer maker released its quarterly results and revealed a major cost-cutting initiative. After the closing bell on Tuesday, HP reported revenue and earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, but issued disappointing guidance, while announcing a restructuring plan aimed at saving $1 billion over the next three years. HP said it would cut between 4,000 and 6,000 jobs, amounting to approximately 10% of its workforce. The company said the cost-cutting efforts aim to enhance “customer satisfaction, product innovation, and productivity by adopting and enabling artificial intelligence.” HP shares fell more than 2% in recent premarket trading.

Urban Outfitters shares rise as earnings estimates rise, holiday sales look strong

Shares of Urban Outfitters (URBN) rose on Wednesday after the clothing retailer beat estimates in its latest earnings report. Sales were $1.53 billion while earnings per share were $1.28, above analyst consensus. On his earnings call after the bell Tuesday, CEO Richard Hein said November sales were “strong,” noting that the company had noticed “a slight shift in consumer behavior,” according to a transcript from AlphaSense. “We believe customers have been waiting a little longer this year to make their purchases for seasonal promotions to kick in, and we’ve successfully countered that shift with strong results at our early holiday events,” Hein said. Shares of Urban Outfitters rose 15% in premarket trading after jumping 10% on Tuesday.