U.S. equity futures retreated Monday, with technology shares under pressure as mounting safety concerns unsettled the outlook for artificial intelligence initial public offerings. Higher oil prices added to the strain on markets ahead of expected interest-rate increases in the United States and Japan.
At 4:30 p.m. (Bangkok time), Nasdaq-100 futures were down 1.84%, compared with a 0.8% decline for S&P 500 futures. Dow futures traded 164 points lower, a loss of 0.31%.
The declines followed a difficult week for U.S. equities, when climbing crude prices weighed on all three benchmarks. A 1.57% fall left the Dow with its weakest weekly performance since March; the S&P 500 lost 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined nearly 0.7%.
Brent futures jumped 3.41% to $108.18 per barrel on Monday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 3.67% to 103.72, as further unrest in the Middle East put supplies at risk. On Friday, Saudi Arabia reported closing its East-West pipeline following repeated drone attacks. The route has provided an important alternative to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Diplomatic efforts also suffered a setback. Talks involving Iran and Gulf states that had been scheduled for Monday were delayed, reducing hopes for progress.
Across global markets, technology stocks weakened after executives at three leading AI businesses urged a slower pace of development over the weekend. Their appeals prompted concerns about potential pressure on demand for AI services and components, including memory chips.
Among U.S. chip stocks, premarket losses reached 7.51% for Marvell Technology, 6.27% for Intel and 2.94% for Nvidia. Major hyperscalers were also lower: Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta each posted declines.
Inflation worries have driven selling in global bonds over recent weeks. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury held around 4.96% Monday, following a Friday close near its highest level in three years.
Investors now await Wednesday’s Federal Reserve decision, anticipating a rate increase. A Bank of Japan rate rise is also expected in the coming days.
