U.S. stock futures traded higher on Tuesday as AI companies continued to fuel investor interest, while new IPO developments and upcoming corporate reports kept Wall Street in focus. The early gains followed a rebound in technology shares, which had outperformed despite ongoing inflation concerns and geopolitical risks.
At 4:21 p.m. (Bangkok Time), contracts tracking the S&P 500 gained around 0.41%, and futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.70%. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up by 128 points, or 0.25%.
After Monday’s closing bell, OpenAI revealed it had submitted confidential filings to go public, following closely behind Anthropic, which initiated the same process one week earlier. Both companies are now in a position to potentially launch their IPOs on Wall Street as soon as this fall.
Chipmakers were among the key drivers leading the S&P 500 to a 0.3% rise in Monday’s trading session, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.86%. These gains helped both indices partially recover losses suffered in last week’s technology sector selloff. By contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 80.77 points, or 0.16%.
The market’s shift higher was propelled mainly by renewed optimism in artificial intelligence, which remained a focus for investors despite fears that elevated inflation may prompt the Federal Reserve to consider raising interest rates later this year.
Geopolitical tensions persisted as a key factor influencing markets. The ongoing conflict involving Iran continued to contribute to inflationary pressures, with no resolution in sight. While both Iran and Israel recently agreed to pause military actions, the underlying conflict and recent reciprocal attacks have further complicated the outlook for diplomatic progress.
Investors are also keeping an eye on several corporate earnings releases scheduled for Tuesday before the market opens, with United Natural Foods, J.M. Smucker, Designer Brands, and Lands’ End set to report results. In addition, market participants await economic data including April wholesale inventories and readings on May’s existing home sales and the NFIB small business index.
Looking ahead, Wall Street is preparing for a potentially record-breaking event later in the week, as SpaceX plans its market debut on Friday. The anticipated offering could become the largest IPO in U.S. history.
