United States stock futures inched higher on Sunday evening (Monday AEST) following a downbeat week on Wall Street, as investor caution over the sustainability of the artificial intelligence boom weighed on sentiment.
By 9:40 am AEST (11:40 pm GMT), Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were each up 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.2%.
Last week saw losses across the major indices amid investor scepticism surrounding Nvidia’s US$100 billion partnership with OpenAI, which prompted questions about whether the AI trade could maintain its momentum.
The Dow slipped 0.2%, its first weekly decline in three weeks, while the S&P 500 shed 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted its sharpest fall since early August, down 0.7%.
Fresh economic data last week further complicated the outlook for monetary policy. Weekly jobless claims came in lower than expected, while second-quarter GDP growth was revised up to 3.8%, fuelling concerns that the Federal Reserve may be slower to begin cutting interest rates.
A delayed easing cycle could undermine one of the rally’s key drivers.
Attention this week turns to the September nonfarm payrolls report, due Friday morning, which investors see as pivotal in shaping the Fed’s policy path.
Markets are looking for a “goldilocks” outcome - strong enough to signal resilience in the economy, but not so robust as to reignite hawkish pressure from policymakers.
Despite last week’s setbacks, Wall Street remains on track for monthly gains. The S&P 500 is up 2.8% in September, the Dow has added 1.5%, and the Nasdaq has advanced 2.9%.
