Stock futures were flat Wednesday as Wall Street looks to see whether equities can rebound to record highs this week.

Market Snapshot

At 8:30 a.m. ET, Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat. Nasdaq 100 futures ticked up by about 0.1%.

Pre-Market Movers

Cisco — The networking technology stock added nearly 2% on the heels of a Citi upgrade to buy from neutral. Citi said artificial intelligence can become a bigger part of the business over time.

NovoCure — Shares soared roughly 20% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novocure’s Optune Lua wearable treatment for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

United Continental — Shares rose about 1% after the airline beat earnings and revenue expectations for the third quarter. United also announced a $1.5 billion share buyback, its first since before the pandemic.

ASML Holding NV — Shares of the Dutch chip equipment firm slid 4.3% before the bell, adding to Tuesday’s losses after it accidently released its third-quarter results a day early . The report was disappointing as ASML cut its 2025 sales forecast, suggesting weakness in markets other than those that serve AI applications.

JB Hunt Transport — Shares jumped more than 7% after the company’s third-quarter results topped expectations. J.B. Hunt posted $1.49 earnings per share on $3.07 billion of revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast earnings of $1.41 per share on $3.02 billion of revenue. The company said demand for its intermodal service rose throughout the quarter.

Market News

US FDA Pauses Novavax's Trial of Combo Flu-COVID Shot on Safety Concerns

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has placed a hold on trials of Novavax's COVID and influenza combination vaccine, as well as standalone flu shot due to safety concerns, the company said on Wednesday.

Shares of the vaccine maker slumped about 14% in premarket trading.

Cisco in Focus as BofA Upgrades on Back of AI Opportunities

Cisco was in focus on Wednesday as Bank of America upgraded the networking giant, citing coming opportunities in artificial intelligence.

Shares rose 1.6% in premarket trading.

"While AI is currently a small piece of the biz (~2% of revs), we see the potential for a stronger contribution," analyst Atif Malik wrote in a note to clients. "With more AI coming, we are incrementally more constructive on the group and expect continued investor rotation out of semis/hardware into networking equipment to benefit group valuation."

Morgan Stanley's Profit Jumps 32% on Bumper Dealmaking

Morgan Stanley's third-quarter profit surged 32%, fueled by a rebound in dealmaking that had also buoyed its rivals, sending its shares up 3.5% before the market open.

The investment bank posted a profit of $3.19 billion on Wednesday, or $1.88 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That compares with $2.41 billion, or $1.38 per share, a year earlier.