United States stock futures were flat on Monday night (Tuesday AEDT), following a mixed start to the month for Wall Street as investors remained focused on the artificial intelligence rally that has dominated recent market sentiment.
By 10:10 am AEDT (11:10 pm GMT), Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 futures were all trading within a narrow ±0.1% range.
In extended trading, Palantir Technologies slipped 2% despite the software maker beating Wall Street’s third-quarter earnings estimates and issuing upbeat guidance, citing strong demand for its artificial intelligence platform.
Shares of Upwork surged 14.4% as the company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.36 on revenue of $201.7 million, versus $0.29 on $193.3 million in revenue.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals slipped 4.2% after posting mixed third-quarter results. The biotech firm reported EPS of $4.80 on revenue of $3.08 billion, versus EPS of $4.58 on revenue of $3.06 billion.
Hims & Hers Health rose 5.7% after the telehealth company posted $599 million in revenue, above consensus forecasts of $580 million, though earnings of 6 cents per share fell short of the 10 cents analysts had expected.
Broader market gains on Monday were supported by strength in the artificial intelligence sector. Amazon climbed to a record closing high after announcing a new deal with OpenAI, further fuelling optimism about AI-related revenue growth.
The Nasdaq Composite rose nearly 0.5%, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, shed about 226 points, or 0.5%, as declines in defensive sectors offset tech strength.
Earnings season continues to bolster investor confidence. According to FactSet, more than 300 S&P 500 companies have reported third-quarter results so far, with over 80% surpassing analyst EPS estimates.
