August 27, 2026, (Inside AI) — Nasdaq futures surged ahead of other U.S. indexes on Thursday after Nvidia issued a revenue forecast that reignited confidence in the artificial intelligence trade. The chipmaker projected a 70% jump in revenue for the next fiscal year, signaling that demand for AI computing remains intense despite warnings about memory component shortages.
Nvidia shares climbed 7.4% in premarket trading. The forecast helped lift global technology stocks, with South Korea's KOSPI closing 1.5% higher. U.S. chipmakers followed suit: Micron Technology gained 4.2%, Marvell Technology rose 5.2%, and Broadcom added 1.6%. Data storage firms Sandisk and Western Digital advanced 4.9% and 3.4%, respectively.
The report countered growing skepticism that the AI capital expenditure cycle had peaked. Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets, framed the announcement as a direct rebuttal to that narrative.
"The biggest positive was management effectively telling investors that AI demand remains supply-constrained even at this scale... That is a powerful counter to the narrative that the AI capex cycle is already peaking," Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist, Saxo Markets
Chanana added a note of caution: "Nvidia's results validate the AI infrastructure trade, but they are not a signal to indiscriminately chase everything labeled AI."
Software stocks also rallied after Salesforce raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts and introduced a plug-in combining its platform with Anthropic's Claude AI models. Salesforce jumped 11.8%. CrowdStrike climbed 8.8% after lifting its annual revenue outlook and beating second-quarter earnings estimates. ServiceNow and Oracle each added about 2%.
These results eased concerns that advanced AI tools would disrupt traditional software companies. The gains narrowed the performance gap between software and semiconductor stocks, which have been viewed as the primary beneficiaries of AI infrastructure spending.
Macro Pressures Test the AI Rally
At 5:05 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 34 points, or 0.06%. S&P 500 E-minis rose 32 points, or 0.42%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis jumped 300.25 points, or 1.03%.
Broader market sentiment remains fragile. Wall Street closed mostly flat on Wednesday after hotter-than-expected Personal Consumption Expenditures data increased bets on a Federal Reserve interest rate hike next month. Traders now see a 36% chance of a September increase, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.
A weekly jobless claims report is due before markets open Thursday. Investors are also watching Treasury yields, which hit multi-year highs last week on concerns about government debt and inflation tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict. The Treasury Department later announced support measures.
Warsh's Jackson Hole Speech Looms
The uncertain macro backdrop has sharpened focus on Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's first Jackson Hole address on Friday. Markets will parse his remarks for clues on the central bank's policy stance amid conflicting signals from inflation data and AI-driven growth.
Nvidia's forecast underscores the scale of AI infrastructure investment. The company cited memory component shortages as a potential constraint on how quickly demand can expand. That supply bottleneck may actually reinforce pricing power for chipmakers and storage vendors in the near term.
The rally in software names suggests investors are broadening their AI exposure beyond hardware. Salesforce's integration with Anthropic's Claude models signals that enterprise software vendors are positioning themselves as AI application layers rather than victims of disruption.
Still, the divergence between tech gains and Dow futures highlights a market torn between AI optimism and macroeconomic caution. The coming days will test whether Nvidia's forecast can sustain the rally or if rate hike fears will cap further upside.
