United States equity futures ticked higher on Monday night (Tuesday AEDT), attempting to stabilise after a sharp sell-off at the start of the final week of February trading.
By 10:45 am AEDT (11:45 pm GMT), futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.2% each.
The modest rebound followed losses in the regular session, as investors reacted to renewed concerns about artificial intelligence-driven disruption across multiple industries.
President Donald Trump’s threat to raise global tariffs to 15%, alongside rising tensions between the United States and Iran, added to the cautious tone.
The Dow fell 1.7% on Monday, weighed down by a 13.2% slump in shares of IBM. The S&P 500 shed 1%, slipping back into negative territory for the year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.1%.
Software and cybersecurity names were among the hardest hit. Microsoft and CrowdStrike were notable laggards, alongside several financial stocks, as investors reassessed earnings prospects in light of accelerating AI adoption.
Attention now turns to a key event hosted by AI firm Anthropic on Tuesday. The company, which develops the Claude chatbot, is expected to unveil new products and demonstrate updated features.
Investors will also monitor U.S. consumer confidence data and earnings from Home Depot on Tuesday.
Later in the week, results from AI chipmaker Nvidia and software groups Salesforce and Snowflake are due, with traders watching closely for signs that the recent pullback in technology shares could deepen or stabilise.
