Stocks Edge Up, Nvidia Woes Linger: Dow Futures Gain 545 Points
US stock futures rose Monday as bargain hunters stepped in after last week's slide, but Nvidia shares fell 4.8% premarket over an internal investigation involving CEO Jensen Huang. Analysts warned that AI worries and rate fears persist beneath the gains.
Stocks edged higher in premarket trading on Monday as Nvidia woes weighed on sentiment, with Dow E-mini futures up 545 points, or 1.06%, at 6:39 a.m. ET. Investors hunted for bargains after a steep fall in equities last week.
Futures are contracts that track where major indexes are expected to open. S&P 500 E-minis rose 49 points, or 0.66%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis gained 112.5 points, or 0.42%.
Nvidia under pressure
Shares of Nvidia, the second most valuable company in the world, fell 4.8% premarket. The drop followed an internal investigation into whether CEO Jensen Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. The probe has raised questions about his future at the AI chipmaker.
"Given Huang's central role in Nvidia's success and the wider AI investment narrative, even speculation about leadership uncertainty could unsettle investors," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
Other chipmakers also slipped. Intel, Marvell Technology and Qualcomm fell between 0.5% and 1%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ended Friday with its biggest weekly loss since March 2025.
Selective buying
The smaller gain in Nasdaq futures than in Dow futures points to cautious buyers, said Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets. "The modest gains in Nasdaq futures compared with the stronger advance in Dow futures suggest that investors remain selective," he said.
Big cloud and AI spenders, known as hyperscalers, moved the other way. Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta were up between 1.5% and 1.8%.
Doubts about how long the AI boom can last lingered after the Democrats' midterm win last week. Fears of a December interest rate hike also persisted after October's stronger-than-expected jobs data. Analysts said this week should show whether the post-midterm selloff went too far or was warranted.
Thomas Mathews, head of markets for Asia Pacific at Capital Economics, was blunt. "The AI correction in equities could have much further to run," he wrote. He named one further risk: any concrete sign that hyperscalers were cutting back capital spending.
Earnings and results so far
Investment firm KKR and Constellation Energy, which has exposure to the AI boom, are due to report on Monday. KKR rose 3.7% ahead of its results, while Constellation was flat.
Earnings season has been strong so far. Of the 335 S&P 500 companies that had reported as of Thursday, 82.4% beat estimates, according to Tajinder Dhillon, head of earnings and equity research at LSEG Data and Analytics.
