Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on February 23, 2024 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Stock futures were little changed on Tuesday as losses in technology stocks weighed on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Indexes, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high.
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down slightly, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to record intraday and closing highs on Monday, in line with the broader market, while a drop in tech stocks and gains in less-favored segments such as energy suggested investors may be pulling out of one of the market’s main drivers over the past year.
Investors are eagerly awaiting earnings Wednesday from Nvidia, one of the biggest beneficiaries of artificial intelligence (AI). Shares of the semiconductor company closed down more than 2% on Monday but rose slightly in after-hours trading. Nvidia has become a key bellwether for tech stocks, and AI more broadly, and investors will be watching the company’s second-quarter earnings report to gauge the health of the AI trade.
Stocks have been trying to stabilize after a rough start to the month, but investors are becoming more optimistic after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested on Friday that the central bank’s next move will be to cut benchmark interest rates. He did not say when rates would be cut or by how much.
Traders are unanimously expecting at least a 25 basis point rate cut at the central bank’s policy meeting on Sept. 17-18, according to data from CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
“It will take time for the rate cuts to trickle down through the economy. The markets have a big role to play for the Fed, but there are a lot of questions,” Allianz chief economic adviser Mohamed El-Erian said Monday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.”
Investors will also analyze retail giant Nordstrom’s latest quarterly results after the close on Tuesday for insight into the health of the consumer.
