U.S. equity futures posted modest gains on Tuesday night as markets extended a rally that pushed major indexes to fresh records earlier in the session. Strength in technology names and lower crude prices provided support, yet the mood was tempered after two high-profile tech companies, SpaceX and AMD, slumped in after-hours trade following their quarterly disclosures.
Market snapshot
- S&P 500 Futures rose 0.2% to 7,783.0 points by 20:56 ET (00:56 GMT).
- Nasdaq 100 Futures lagged slightly, down 0.07% to 29,847.25 points.
- Dow Jones Futures climbed 0.2% to 54,392.0 points.
Among individual names in after-hours trading, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) stood out by rising around 2% after SpaceX announced a strategic chipmaking tie-up with the company.
Why stocks moved
Wall Street’s main indexes finished the regular session at record levels, buoyed by a strong rebound in technology shares following steep losses in July. Investors showed renewed interest in chipmakers and AI-related equities after some favorable results from major technology companies released last week, including Microsoft and Amazon, which helped shift sentiment toward the sector.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged by more than 6% on Tuesday, recovering further from July declines as some traders reassessed valuations attached to AI-driven chip demand. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both closed higher by roughly 1.7% to 1.8% and ended the session at new record highs. The NASDAQ Composite jumped 2.6% to close at a 1-1/2 month high.
SpaceX, AMD temper the rally after earnings
Not all earnings headlines were received positively. SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) each posted after-hours declines that blunted the broader market advance.
SpaceX fell about 8% in after-hours trading after releasing its first quarterly earnings report since listing. The rocket maker did report revenue above expectations and a narrower quarterly loss, but markets focused on the company’s plan to increase spending on AI infrastructure. SpaceX also announced a collaboration with Nvidia on AI processors for use in space. CEO Elon Musk highlighted ambitious targets for the business, including a planned ramp-up in AI compute capacity and a goal of reaching $1 trillion in revenue by 2030. The company’s sizable AI-related expenditure plans drew concern among investors already sensitive to lofty AI valuations and sector spending.
AMD plunged as much as 9% in the aftermarket despite reporting stronger-than-expected revenue and earnings for the June quarter. The solid top- and bottom-line prints did not alleviate market worry that some of the company's future AI-driven growth may already be priced into its shares. Adding to the pressure, SpaceX’s partnership with Nvidia appeared to position Nvidia for potential contracts that AMD did not secure, a dynamic that weighed on AMD’s stock in after-hours trade.
Implications and closing note
The session highlighted a market environment in which momentum toward technology and AI-focused names is rebounding but remains vulnerable to company-specific news on earnings and capital spending plans. While indexes reached new highs on broad buying interest in tech, the reaction to SpaceX and AMD reports underscores how quickly optimism can be capped when investors reassess the trade-off between growth prospects and aggressive spending tied to AI expansion.