US stock futures traded mixed on Monday amid fading optimism for interest-rate cuts, as investors looked ahead to Nvidia (NVDA) earnings to test the health of the AI trade.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) slipped roughly 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures (ES=F) were broadly flat. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) rose 0.3%, buoyed by a jump in Tesla (TSLA) stock.
Stocks are starting the week on the back foot as the prospect of higher-for-longer rates holds post-election bullishness in check. The S&P 500 has reversed half of its Trump-fueled rally after sharp weekly losses for the major gauges, led by tech.
Signs of a robust economy, combined with comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, have prompted investors to downsize expectations for rate cuts. After the big macro and political events of recent days, the week brings few economic releases seen as likely to reset those calculations.
Read more: What the Fed rate cut means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards
Given that, eyes are now on Nvidia’s results on Wednesday for insight into the strength of the AI trade, which has helped drive the S&P 500’s gains over the past year. Production of its flagship Blackwell chip is in focus, especially after The Information reported the next-generation AI chip has run into problems with overheating. Nvidia shares were down over 2% in premarket trading.
Elsewhere in tech, EV maker Tesla’s shares rose almost 7% in the wake of a Bloomberg report that President-elect Donald Trump’s team is looking to ease US rules for self-driving vehicles.
Wall Street continues to monitor Trump’s picks for his cabinet, after his choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr for top health official rattled vaccine stocks. The incoming president has named Brendan Carr, a critic of Big Techs such as Meta and Apple, as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. The wait is now on to learn who will win the frenzied race to become Trump’s Treasury Secretary.
Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC-USD) — a key Trump trade — has rebounded from its biggest retreat since the election at the weekend. The cryptocurrency was trading above $90,000 early on Monday.
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