Key Points:
- Stock futures steadied ahead of earnings from AMD, Alphabet, and Amazon.
- Elon Musk’s SpaceX acquired xAI, creating a $1.25 trillion giant.
- The U.S. signed a trade deal lowering tariffs on Indian goods. A partial government shutdown has delayed the January jobs report.
- Gold prices rebounded while oil stabilized after recent volatility.
U.S. stock futures steadied on Tuesday morning as investors prepared for a massive week of corporate earnings. While the Dow Jones slipped slightly, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures pointed to a positive open. This follows a volatile session on Monday where chipmaker stocks rallied, boosting overall market sentiment.
At 8:58 AM (ET), major U.S. stock indices opened with solid momentum, building on a strong start to the month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged over 1% to 49,407.67, while the S&P 500 rose 0.54% to 6,976.45, nearing a fresh record. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gained 0.73%, reaching 25,738.61.
Over 100 companies in the S&P 500 are set to report their financial results this week. All eyes are on Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which reports later today. Investors are eager to see if demand for its AI chips is holding up.
Later in the week, tech giants Alphabet and Amazon will release their numbers, giving the market a clearer picture of cloud computing growth and consumer spending habits. These reports come after Microsoft’s mixed results last week left some investors questioning the immediate payoff of heavy artificial intelligence spending.
In a major industry shakeup, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has acquired his AI startup, xAI. The deal values the combined company at a staggering $1.25 trillion. This merger brings Musk’s rocket and satellite business under the same roof as his AI assistant, Grok, potentially setting the stage for a public listing soon.
On the geopolitical front, the Trump administration announced a new trade deal with India, cutting tariffs on Indian goods from 50% down to 18%. Analysts at Bank of America believe this move will stabilize the trade environment and encourage businesses to invest more freely now that export demand is more predictable.
However, domestic economic data has hit a snag. A partial U.S. government shutdown that began over the weekend has forced the Bureau of Labor Statistics to delay the release of the January jobs report, originally scheduled for Friday. Lawmakers in Washington are currently scrambling to pass a funding bill to resume federal operations.
Meanwhile, commodities are seeing mixed movement. Gold prices rebounded over 5% after a steep drop earlier in the week, trading around $4,900 an ounce. Oil prices also nudged higher, stabilizing after a sharp fall caused by cooling tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
