U.S. equity futures are mixed as renewed selling in AI and semiconductor shares offsets relative strength in the Dow. At 5:32 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures were down 0.06%, Dow futures were up 0.29% and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.72%. Russell 2000 futures were down roughly 0.3%. Concerns about AI infrastructure spending, free-cash-flow pressure and growing Chinese semiconductor competition are weighing on growth stocks ahead of this week’s Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon earnings.
U.S. equities finished mixed Monday despite the sharp decline in oil. The S&P 500 gained 0.02%, the Dow rose 0.51%, the Nasdaq declined 0.18% and the Russell 2000 advanced 0.6%. Nvidia’s 5% decline weighed on the Nasdaq, while Microsoft, Alphabet, Apple, Walmart and Johnson & Johnson helped support the broader market. Total U.S. exchange volume was 15.8 billion shares, below the prior 20-session average of 18.2 billion.
Using the supplied sector tape, Consumer Staples led with a 1.58% gain, followed by Communication Services +1.46%, Financials +1.00%, Consumer Discretionary +0.77%, Health Care +0.52%, Industrials +0.32% and Materials +0.26%. The laggards were Energy -2.01%, Utilities -1.33%, Technology -0.97% and Real Estate -0.49%. Breadth remained constructive despite Technology weakness, with advancers leading decliners by 1.72:1 on the NYSE and 1.65:1 on the Nasdaq.
Treasury yields declined Monday as the pause in U.S.-Iran strikes reduced the immediate energy-inflation premium. The 2-year yield fell 1 basis point to 4.32%, the 10-year declined 3 basis points to 4.65% and the 30-year fell 3 basis points to 5.13%. The bond market’s response was relatively restrained, however, with investors still pricing meaningful risk that the Fed tightens again this year.
The DXY edged up to 101.51, while the euro weakened to $1.1372, sterling fell to $1.3291 and the dollar held near a multidecade high at ¥163.74. The dollar remained near a four-week high Tuesday morning, with markets assigning close to a 40% probability to a Fed rate increase at Wednesday’s decision.
September WTI crude plunged 8.18% Monday to $82.00 and extended lower Tuesday to approximately $80.63, its lowest level since July 17, as diplomatic talks raised hopes for a U.S.-Iran agreement. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited, leaving the decline dependent on further de-escalation. August gold gained 0.33% Monday to $4,084.20, but fell roughly 0.8% Tuesday morning toward $4,042 as the firm dollar and Fed uncertainty outweighed safe-haven demand.
Monday’s economic data showed continued strength in business investment. Core capital-goods orders rose 0.9% in June, while shipments surged 1.9%, their largest increase in 4½ years, as spending on computers, electronics and other AI-related equipment accelerated. Headline durable-goods orders rose 0.3%. Tuesday’s main release is the Conference Board’s July Consumer Confidence Index at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Reserve also begins its two-day policy meeting, with the decision scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Company News by GICS Sector
Information Technology
- Nvidia (NVDA -1.1% premarket), Micron Technology (MU -4.4%) and Applied Materials (AMAT -3.6%) extended the semiconductor selloff. U.S.-listed shares of TSMC (TSM -2.6%) and SK Hynix (-3.6%) also declined as investors questioned AI-spending returns and assessed intensifying Chinese competition.
- Nvidia (NVDA -5.0%), AMD (AMD -5.2%) and SanDisk (SNDK -11.0%) were among Monday’s largest Technology decliners, while Microsoft (MSFT +1.9%) and Apple (AAPL +1.2%) provided some offset.
Communication Services
- Meta Platforms (META) and BlackRock (BLK) announced a $14 billion venture to develop an AI data-center campus in El Paso, Texas. BlackRock-managed funds will own 80% of the venture, with Meta retaining 20%, highlighting Big Tech’s growing use of external capital to fund AI infrastructure.
Health Care
- Johnson & Johnson (JNJ +2.5% premarket) rose after agreeing to pay an estimated $5.5 billion to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that its talc products caused cancer.
Industrials
- Boeing (BA +0.3% premarket) edged higher ahead of its second-quarter earnings report. Investors will focus on aircraft deliveries, cash flow, production rates and the pace of recovery across its commercial-aircraft operations.
Consumer Staples
- Walmart (WMT +2.1%) was one of Monday’s largest positive S&P 500 contributors as investors favored defensive consumer exposure amid renewed Technology volatility.
Financials
- Visa (V) reports after Tuesday’s close, while PayPal (PYPL) and S&P Global (SPGI) are among the companies scheduled to report before the open. Card volumes, consumer spending, credit trends and cross-border activity will be the principal read-throughs.
