Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on September 30, 2026.
New York Stock Exchange
Stock futures were slightly higher late Sunday as traders questioned whether tech stocks can continue to rally, ahead of the release of key inflation and earnings data from major AI companies this week.
S&P 500 Futures Contracts gained 0.1%, while the Nasdaq100added 0.3%. Futures contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 101 points, or 0.2%.
In Asia, markets were mixed on Monday, with South Korean stocks continuing their sharp decline from Friday.
The reference Kospi The index fell slightly, while the Kosdaq small-cap index fell 0.87%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.39%, after initially starting the day in positive territory.
Japanese markets, however, progressed. The Nikkei 225 gained 1.97% and the Topix rose 2.8%.
Later on Monday, investors will look to inflation data from China, with economists polled by Reuters expecting a reading of 0.8%, down slightly from 0.9% in September.
Friday’s market partially rebounded from Thursday’s sharp AI-driven selloff, as chip stocks rallied on fresh buying. The heavy on technology Nasdaq Composite rebounded 1.09% to 24,579.42 and the broader S&P 500 rose 0.31% to 7,376.86. The blue-chip Dow, however, lost 237.33 points, or 0.46 percent, to settle at 51,285.73.
Overall investor sentiment remained cautious after a series of stronger-than-expected jobs data. Additionally, concerns persist after Democrats’ strong midterm showings that tighter regulations on data center construction, energy consumption and development costs could slow the AI infrastructure boom.
The tech sector will also be focused on Sunday’s explosive announcement that from Nvidia The board of directors opens an investigation into co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with a businesswoman who U.S. intelligence agencies say is a Chinese spy. A proxy for Nvidia shares are down 2% over the past 24 hours in trading on Hyperliquide.
Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, noted that the Nasdaq and Nasdaq-100 are oversold, with strong de-risking from traders. Thursday marked the biggest retail day since the Covid pandemic, according to Vanda Research. Retail traders did not benefit from the selloff, Sonders said.
“Retail has not proven to be a declining buyer like it has been in the past,” she told CNBC’s “Fast Money” on Friday. “You saw a very significant amount of net sales… we may not be completely eliminated yet, but we will have to see if that retail trader decides at some point to come back.”
Sonders suggested that the next near-term priority should be companies’ adjustments to investment plans and expectations for future profit margins.
This week, investors are eagerly awaiting major AI-related earnings – CoreWeave, Cisco and Applied Materials are all on deck – as they assess the technology’s prospects and whether the recent sell-off should continue.
They will also monitor the release of the consumer price index on Tuesday and the producer price index on Friday, looking for clues about the Fed’s next move.
On Monday, traders will receive September wholesale inventory data at 10 a.m. ET. Take-Two Interactive Software, Occidental Petroleum, KKR, Constellation Energy and Skydance are expected to report quarterly results.
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