Stock Futures Edge Higher as Wall Street Faces Apple Earnings and $104 Oil
Stock futures edged higher on Sunday evening as Wall Street prepared for a heavy slate featuring Apple earnings, the midterm elections, and crude oil holding above $104 a barrel. S&P 500 futures, Nasdaq 100 futures, and Dow futures each opened the session with initial gains ranging from 0.2% to 0.4%, Yahoo Finance reported.
AI Stocks Shed $5 Trillion in Market Value
The tech sector downturn closed out October with a narrow but brutal selloff. The largest artificial intelligence and chip stocks shed approximately $5 trillion in market value since October 6, according to Yahoo Finance calculations. At the same time, the remaining 625 large US stocks in that same tally gained about $1.3 trillion.
Last week highlighted this divergence clearly. The S&P 500 slipped roughly 0.6%, yet nine of its 11 sectors managed to rise by 1% or more. Yahoo Finance noted that no other down week for the index since at least 1999 has recorded more than seven advancing sectors.
History offers two conflicting views on what happens next. One historical reading suggests the technology meltdown could extend further before hitting a floor. Another view points out that the stock market historically enters its strongest seasonal stretch right now. Data shows that from the end of a midterm October through the following June, the S&P 500 has risen every time since 1950.
Apple Reports Financial Results After Market Closes
Apple reports its financial results after the market closes on Monday, drawing intense focus toward iPhone 18 sales figures. Apple closed Friday valued at approximately $5.03 trillion, as the world’s most valuable company again, ahead of Nvidia at about $4.93 trillion. Apple remains the only “Magnificent Seven” stock outperforming the S&P 500 this year, posting a gain of roughly 27% compared to the index’s 11% rise. Palantir also scheduled its earnings release for Monday.
Energy markets faced lingering supply pressures as West Texas Intermediate crude opened lower Sunday after settling Friday above $104 a barrel, marking its highest close since mid-September. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut during the ninth month of the Iran war. Meanwhile, OPEC+ decided to keep its December output targets steady during meetings on Sunday.
Voters Cast Ballots Before October Jobs Report
Voters head to the polls on Tuesday for the midterm elections. Wall Street will shift its attention to macroeconomic health on Friday with the release of the October jobs report, which will test market debates over whether the Federal Reserve put has returned.