U.S. stock futures tracked mixed movements late Sunday, with the Nasdaq-100 dipping 0.02% as investors digest last week's technology selloff. Meanwhile, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.22% and S&P 500 futures rose 0.11% ahead of a pivotal week for corporate earnings and Federal Reserve policy.
The prior trading session saw broad weakness in U.S. benchmark indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 650 points to close 1.23% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.1%. The S&P 500 ended the week down 0.52%. This marked the second consecutive week of declines for the Nasdaq and S&P 500, driven by concerns over the sustainability of artificial intelligence spending and debt levels. Conversely, the Dow Jones recorded its third straight weekly gain.
Semiconductor stocks showed signs of stabilization overnight. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (SOXL), and VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) had posted three straight weekly losses but climbed higher in pre-market trading on Sunday. This rebound occurred as geopolitical tensions eased slightly; U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that there would not be a strike on Iran that day.
U.S. Central Command confirmed that CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper visited the Strait of Hormuz on Oct. 25. The department stated that U.S. forces have helped Gulf partners export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil since summer and assisted over 3,000 commercial vessels in transiting the strait in the last six months. Cooper noted that primary transit routes remain free of Iranian sea mines, allowing commercial traffic to flow.
Oil prices retreated from six-month highs following these developments. Brent crude futures traded at $114.85 a barrel, down 1.60%, while WTI crude futures fell nearly 2% to $101.28 per barrel.
Investor attention now turns to a heavy earnings slate featuring Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Amazon.com Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., Visa Inc., Boeing Co., and Coca-Cola Co. The Federal Reserve begins its policy meeting on Tuesday, with markets largely expecting rates to remain steady ahead of midterm elections.
Individual stocks reacted sharply to recent news. CoreWeave Inc., IREN Limited, and Nebius Group N.V. shares each slid nearly 3% overnight after Elon Musk stated that the AI cloud sector would face "guppy-level death and consolidation" and that SpaceX has no interest in acquiring a neocloud company. Moderna Inc. shares fell following a data leak from its melanoma vaccine trial.
In international markets, the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) plunged more than 18% after Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defeated Flavio Bolsonaro in Brazil's election. U.S. Treasury yields also moved, with the 10-year yield falling below 5% to 4.966%, while the 30-year yield stood at 5.294%. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) rose 0.48%. Asian markets opened mixed on Monday, with South Korea's KOSPI, Japan's Nikkei 225, and China's SSE Composite trading lower, while Australian stocks opened higher.