U.S. stock futures showed little net movement on Monday evening after a technology-focused selloff in the cash market, as market participants weighed geopolitical developments in the Middle East and prepared for a key earnings report from Nvidia later this week.
At 21:25 ET (01:25 GMT), S&P 500 Futures traded flat at 7,425.50 points. Nasdaq 100 Futures were down 0.1% at 29,070.75 points, while Dow Jones Futures traded 0.1% lower at 49,742.0 points.
In the regular session, the Nasdaq Composite - a benchmark concentrated in technology names - closed 0.5% lower. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was largely unchanged, supported in part by gains among energy-sector stocks.
The selling pressure was concentrated in semiconductors and other high-growth technology names as some investors shifted away from risk assets. Market participants cited climbing oil prices and heightened geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East as factors that helped drive the rotation away from higher-beta tech names.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares fell roughly 1.3% during Monday’s trading session, extending a recent pullback ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings report scheduled for Wednesday. Nvidia’s upcoming results and the company’s guidance are widely anticipated by investors assessing whether enthusiasm for artificial intelligence can continue to support lofty valuations across the technology sector.
Geopolitical developments also unsettled markets. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had paused a planned military strike on Iran after receiving a peace proposal from Tehran. In the same statement, he said leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates had requested that he hold off on the attack.
Oil prices eased modestly in Asian trading on Tuesday but remained elevated amid the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital channel for global energy shipments. The persistence of higher energy costs has contributed to upward pressure on Treasury yields.
Investors are concerned that sustained elevated energy prices could complicate the Federal Reserve’s prospects for cutting interest rates, since higher fuel costs could keep inflation pressures elevated and delay easing expectations.
Bottom line - Futures were largely steady on Monday evening, but the tone across markets is cautious as investors assess Middle East developments, elevated oil prices and the implications of Nvidia’s upcoming earnings release.