U.S. equity futures were mixed on Tuesday as investors assessed another rise in government bond yields following a weaker session for stocks. The moves kept attention on interest rate expectations, artificial intelligence developments and fresh economic data due later in the morning.
At 4:30 p.m. (Bangkok Time), Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 46 points, or 0.10%. Contracts tied to the S&P 500 were down 0.05% after trimming earlier declines, while Nasdaq-100 futures edged up 0.03%.
In Monday’s regular session, the Dow and S&P 500 slid 0.67% and 0.77% respectively, while Nasdaq Composite faced a steeper loss at 0.92%.
Bond market pressure remained a central focus. Investors continued to weigh the possibility that stubborn inflation could push the Federal Reserve toward higher rates. The 10-year Treasury yield finished Monday above 5.2%, close to levels last reached in 2007, while the 30-year yield moved above 5.56%, around a high last seen in 2004.
By Tuesday, the 10-year yield was broadly steady at 5.247%. The 30-year yield eased slightly to 5.558%.
In technology, AMD shares were nearly flat after the company agreed to buy World Labs, the AI model startup founded by Fei-Fei Li, for $8.2 billion. The transaction was viewed as a move to add AI talent and technical knowledge.
Attention in the AI sector quickly shifted to reports involving other major developers. Reuters reported details from a leaked Anthropic IPO prospectus, indicating the company is seeking a $2 trillion valuation, compared with an estimated $965 billion valuation, and warning that AI may create threats to human survival. Anthropic has not released an official public filing.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI halted work on a frontier AI model after internal tests raised safety concerns. The report followed OpenAI’s weekend disclosure of additional breaches involving agentic AI systems, adding to scrutiny of AI risk management.
A group of technology leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, is expected to attend a White House meal with President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon as public concerns about AI risks intensify.
Oil prices also fluctuated on Tuesday. Brent crude, the global benchmark, moved 0.03% higher to $105.31 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude edged 0.08% lower to $92.53. The muted movements came even as Saudi Arabia restarted shipments through its East-West pipeline and U.S. and Iranian officials met mediators in an effort to restart fragmented talks.
Investors will next monitor economic releases that could influence Treasury trading. September consumer confidence data and the August Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey are scheduled for 10 a.m. (Eastern Time).
