US futures edge lower as Fed fears offset tech cheer

Investing.com-- U.S. futures moved in a flat-to-low range in evening deals on Monday, as anxiety over an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting largely offset some artificial intelligence-driven optimism towards the technology sector. 

While gains in tech helped power some gains on Wall Street on Monday, most major tech stocks reversed course in aftermarket trade. Market darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) slid 1.7% even as it revealed its newest line of hotly anticipated AI chips, named Blackwell. 

S&P 500 Futures fell 0.1% to 5,207.50 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.3% to 18,181.25 points by 19:06 ET (23:06 GMT). Dow Jones Futures inched lower to 39,218.00 points.

Tech gains lift Wall Street, but Fed fears remain in play 

Wall Street indexes closed higher on Monday, buoyed chiefly by gains in tech stocks on some hype over artificial intelligence. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) surged 4.6% and was the top boost to U.S. benchmarks after Bloomberg reported the company was in talks with Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) for the latter to use Google’s Gemini AI in its flagship iPhones. 

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to finish at 5,149.42 points, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.8% to 16,103.45 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 38,790.43 points. 

Wall Street was also boosted by a 6% jump in Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), after the electric carmaker said it was planning to hike the prices of some of its European models. 

But Tesla fell in aftermarket trade, while broader sentiment was largely throttled by anticipation of a Fed meeting, which begins on Tuesday with a decision due on Wednesday. 

Markets were on edge over potentially hawkish messaging from the central bank, given that U.S. inflation remained largely sticky over the past three months. Still, the Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold. 

But the prospect of higher for longer interest rates puts a timer on Wall Street’s stellar rally so far in 2024, especially if the Fed dials down its rate cut projections for the year. 

Uncertainty over the Fed saw Wall Street stick to a holding pattern over the past three sessions. Markets were also awaiting a string of preliminary purchasing managers index readings for March, due later in the week. 

Chipmakers sink after Nvida’s new chip reveal 

Chipmaking stocks appeared to be largely underwhelmed by Nvidia’s new chip reveal. The market darling fell 1.7% in aftermarket trade, rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) lost more than 2%, while Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shed 0.4%. 

Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI), which makes AI-geared servers with Nvidia’s chips, slid 4%.

But shares of design software firms Synopsys Inc (NASDAQ:SNPS) and ANSYS Inc (NASDAQ:ANSS) Inc rose nearly 2% each in aftermarket trade, after Nvidia announced tie-ups with the two.