Stock market today: US futures advance as Netflix, Intuitive rally

• US stock futures rose, buoyed by optimism over tech earnings and gains in global equity markets.
• Netflix, Intuitive Surgical, and eBay led premarket gains among S&P 500 names.

US stock futures powered higher in Wednesday's early trades after the S&P 500 index closed at a new record high on Tuesday, buoyed by optimism over tech earnings.

Netflix, Intuitive Surgical, and eBay were among the biggest premarket gainers on the S&P 500, while Texas Instruments and ON Semiconductor led declines.

European equities maintained an upbeat tone. Chinese markets advanced amid cautious optimism over reported plans by the Asian nation's policymakers to take measures aimed at shoring investor confidence.

Bitcoin stabilized near a seven-week low, while the dollar headed for its biggest decline this month. Oil prices saw modest gains.

Market overview

• Futures on the S&P 500 index rose 0.4% to 4,916.50 points as of 5 a.m. ET, while similar contracts on the Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.75% to 17,661.25.
• European stocks rallied, with the Euro Stoxx 50 notching a 1% gain. Germany's DAX 40 index also advanced 1% and France's CAC 40 added 0.6%.
• In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 3.6% and the Shanghai Composite rose 1.8%. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.8%, while India's Nifty 50 rose 0.9%.
• In the crypto market, bitcoin was up 0.4% at $40,014. Ether remained in a defensive mode at $2,238, trading near a two-week low.
• The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, declined 0.5%, on track for the biggest single-day drop since December 27.
• Ten-year Treasury yields were little changed at 4.11%. US crude oil rose 0.6% to $74.84 a barrel.