Wall Street Futures Rise as AI Stocks Catch Their Breath, With the Midterms and Apple Earnings in Focus
US stock index futures were higher Monday morning after the Nasdaq-100 shed more than $2.5 trillion in October, Reuters reported, as investors turned to Tuesday's midterms and a busy earnings week.
US stock index futures were higher on Monday as technology and AI-related stocks steadied after a dismal October, with investors turning their attention to the midterm elections and another busy week of earnings, according to a Reuters dispatch read in full by this desk on Monday. At 5:15 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 270 points, or 0.52 percent, S&P 500 E-minis were up 39.75 points, or 0.52 percent, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 253.5 points, or 0.89 percent, Reuters reported.
The rebound follows a brutal month for the AI trade: the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 shed over $2.5 trillion in market value last month and was on the brink of correction territory, Reuters reported, as investors grew wary of Big Tech's soaring AI spending while awaiting evidence of stronger returns. Sentiment improved Monday with most megacap and growth stocks rising in premarket trading; Intel inched 0.2 percent higher after its worst one-day fall since the 1980s on Friday, while Apple eased 0.4 percent ahead of quarterly earnings due after the bell, and rival AMD reports later this week, according to Reuters.
Risk sentiment also got a lift from oil prices falling more than 4 percent, Reuters reported, as talks between Iranian and Qatari officials on a deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran raised hopes that Middle East supply disruptions could ease. Among early movers, Okta gained 3.6 percent after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the identity-management firm would join the S&P 500, replacing Kenvue, Reuters reported.
Tuesday's midterms remain the week's central catalyst, Reuters reported: they will determine whether Democrats can wrest control of Congress away from President Donald Trump's Republican Party, with Democrats widely predicted to win the House while the Senate is more in doubt. Seth Meyer, global head of client portfolio management at Janus Henderson Investors, told Reuters that a Democratic House victory would return the US to divided government, adding that gridlock 'may be good, and it certainly isn't unusual.'
