U.S. stock index futures traded higher on Friday as investors focused on a crucial inflation report that could influence expectations about the extent of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate cuts this year.

Focus now shifts to July's Personal Consumption Expenditure data, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, due at 8:30 a.m. E.T. - the last PCE report before the central bank's highly anticipated September meeting.

Market Snapshot

At 07:50 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 84 points, or 0.20%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 21.75 points, or 0.39%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 134 points, or 0.69%.

Pre-Market Movers

Nvidia - Nvidia was up 1% in premarket trading. Shares of the chip maker, which makes the chips that are the favored choice for training AI systems, fell 6.4% on Thursday after Nvidia reported asecond-quarter beat on earnings and revenue. The shares have fallen 8.35% over the past two sessions, their worst two-day stretch since the two days ended July 25.

Alibaba - China's State Administration of Market Regulation issued a statement on Friday saying Alibaba Group had completed three years "rectification" following a fine levied in 2021 for monopolistic behaviour. Alibaba ’ s shares rose 4.5% in pre-market trading.

Intel - Intel rose 3.3% following a report from Bloomberg that said the chip maker was discussing various scenarios with investment bankers, including a split of its product-design and manufacturing businesses and what factory projects potentially might be scrapped. The report cited people familiar with the matter. Intel shares have declined 60% this year.

Dell - Dell Technologies reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.89 a share, beating consensus of $1.70, and revenue at the maker of personal computers rose 9% from a year earlier to $25 billion and also topped forecasts. The company said demand in the period for artificial-intelligence servers was   $3.2 billion, up 23% sequentially. Backlog was   $3.8 billion, with Dell saying its "pipeline has grown to several multiples of our backlog." Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clark said Dell ’ s "AI momentum accelerated in Q2, and we ’ ve seen an increase in the number of enterprise customers buying AI solutions each quarter." The stock rose 4.3%.

Marvell Technology - Semiconductor maker Marvell Technology said itexpects fiscal third-quarter revenueof $1.45 billion at the midpoint, higher than analysts ’ estimates of $1.41 billion, and adjusted earnings of 40 cents a share at the midpoint, higher than consensus of 38 cents. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $1.27 billion, down 5% from a year earlier. But Marvell CEO Matt Murphy said revenue in the period rose 10% sequentially, "above the mid-point of guidance driven by strong demand from [ artificial intelligence ] ." Shares jumped 10.6%.

Autodesk - Autodesk, the software company, raised guidance for the fiscal year following better-than-expected second-quarter adjusted profit and revenue. Autodesk said its expects revenue in the fiscal year ending in January to rise about 11%, compared with its previous forecast for growth of 9% to 11%. The company estimated billings would rise 13% to 15%. Autodesk gained 5%.

Lululemon Athletica - Lululemon Athletica, the maker of yoga and workout apparel, cut its fiscal-year outlook. The company said it expects fiscal-year earnings of $13.95 to $14.15 a share on sales of $10.375 billion to $10.475 billion. Lululemon ’ s previous forecast in June was for earnings of $14.27   to   $14.47 a share on sales of $10.7 billion   to   $10.8 billion. Lululemon reportedsecond-quarter revenueof $2.37 billion, missing forecasts of $2.4 billion, while same-store sales rose 2%, below analysts projections for an increase of 5.9%. Adjusted earnings, however, of $3.15 a share topped estimates of $2.93, lifting the stock by 4.2% in premarket trading.

MongoDB - MongoDB jumped 15.5% after the cloud-based database software company boosted its forecast for the third quarter and fiscal year following better-than-expected second-quarter adjusted earnings. Revenue in the second quarter was $478.1 million, up 13% from a year earlier and higher than expectations of $465 million.

Ulta Beauty - Second-quarter earnings and revenue at Ulta Beauty were lower than expected and same-store sales tumbled 1.2%, leading the cosmetics company to reduce its fiscal-year outlook. Ulta said it anticipates fiscal-year sales of between $11 billion and $11.2 billion, below analysts ’ estimates of $11.5 billion. The stock was falling 8.8% in premarket trading.

Elastic - Elastic sank 27% after the data analytics company issued a revenue forecast for its fiscal second quarter that missed expectations. Elastic expects revenue in the period of $353 million to $355 million, below estimates of $361 million. The company reported a first-quarter GAAP operating loss of $34 million.

Emergent BioSolutions - The U.S. FDA has approved expanded use of Emergent BioSolutions' ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine to include people at high risk for mpox infection. Emergent shares soared 14.1% in premarket trading.

Intuitive Machines - NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines a $116.9 million contract to deliver six science and technology payloads to the Moon's south pole, the space exploration company said, sending its shares up 22.8% in premarket trading.

Market News

Intel Weighs Options Including Foundry Split to Stem Losses

Intel Corp. is working with investment bankers to help navigate the most difficult period in its 56-year history, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company is discussing various scenarios, including a split of its product-design and manufacturing businesses, as well as which factory projects might potentially be scrapped, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Intel ’ s longtime bankers, have been providing advice on the possibilities, which could also include potential M&A, the people said. The discussions have only grown more urgent since the Santa Clara, California-based company delivered a grim earnings report, which sent the shares plunging to their lowest level since 2013.

The various options are expected to be presented during a board meeting in September, the people said.

Nvidia Discusses Joining OpenAI's Latest Funding Round

Nvidia Corp., the world's biggest chipmaker, has discussed joining a funding round for OpenAI that would value the artificial intelligence startup at more than $100 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. also have been in talks about participating in the financing, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. The round would be led by Thrive Capital, which is investing about $1 billion, Bloomberg reported earlier this week. Nvidia has discussed investing about $100 million, two of the people said.

If the discussions move forward, it would mean the three most valuable tech companies are all backing OpenAI, maker of the groundbreaking ChatGPT chatbot. Microsoft was already OpenAI ’ s biggest funder, having invested roughly $13 billion.