Market Overview
U.S. stock index futures slipped on Monday night as investors weighed artificial‑intelligence (AI) concerns and prepared for a pivotal week of megacap technology earnings. By 21:27 ET (01:27 GMT), S&P 500 futures were down 0.3% at 7,428.25 points, Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.7% to 28,001.25 points, and Dow Jones futures slipped 0.2% to 52,297.0 points.
Regular‑Session Performance
In the regular session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, the S&P 500 ended largely unchanged, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2%. The Nasdaq decline was driven by a sell‑off in chipmakers after reports that Chinese memory‑chipmaker CXMT had made rapid advances, heightening concerns over competition in the AI semiconductor market. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) dropped about 5%, pulling the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down 2.2%.
Upcoming Megacap Earnings
Investors are focused on quarterly results from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) scheduled later this week. The reports are expected to shed light on AI‑related spending and whether heavy investments in AI infrastructure are translating into earnings growth. Last week’s earnings from Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) had raised concerns after both companies highlighted elevated AI‑related spending.
Federal Reserve Policy Meeting
The Federal Reserve began a two‑day policy meeting on Tuesday, with its interest‑rate decision due on Wednesday. Markets will closely scrutinise comments from Chair Kevin Warsh for clues on the outlook for monetary policy after recent volatility in energy prices complicated the inflation picture.
Energy and Geopolitical Developments
Oil prices fell sharply on Monday and extended losses in Asian trading on Tuesday after the United States and Iran maintained a pause in hostilities over the weekend, easing fears of supply disruptions and offering some relief to inflation expectations. President Donald Trump said the United States was holding "good talks" with Iran and that there was a chance of reaching an agreement to end months of conflict, while warning that U.S. military strikes would resume if diplomacy failed.
Corporate and Regulatory News
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced a proposed $5.5 billion settlement to resolve the majority of its remaining ovarian‑talc litigation. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration proposed inspections of passenger‑seat installations on hundreds of Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX aircraft after finding that some seats were incorrectly installed, potentially creating a safety risk.