United States stock futures were mixed on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEST) as investors weighed a favourable antitrust ruling for Alphabet alongside lingering concerns over bond yields and trade disputes.
By 8:50 am AEST (10:50 pm GMT), Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.3% and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.4%.
Alphabet shares jumped 7.1% in after-hours trading after a federal judge ruled that Google may continue operating its Chrome browser but must stop striking exclusive search agreements and share certain search data.
The outcome avoided the harshest potential penalties, which could have dismantled parts of Google’s search dominance.
The ruling also reflected the court’s view that artificial intelligence has created more choice for consumers, softening regulatory concerns.
The decision also allowed Apple to continue preloading Google Search on its iPhones, a highly lucrative arrangement.
Apple shares also gained 2.6% in after-hours trading, providing a boost to investor sentiment as the company also faces its own antitrust scrutiny.
The ruling provided a sharp contrast to Tuesday’s regular session, which saw all three major U.S. benchmarks retreat as traders took profits following the summer rally.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.8%.
Bond markets added to pressure on equities. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.27%, while the 30-year climbed above 4.97%, as investors weighed the fiscal implications of a federal appeals court ruling that many of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs were unconstitutional.
Attention now shifts to the August jobs report, due Friday, which will be closely watched for signs of labour market resilience and its implications for the Federal Reserve’s mid-September policy meeting.
