US stock futures tread water after Nvidia rout; Inflation in focus

Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures were muted in evening deals on Monday after widespread selling in technology shares, particularly Nvidia and its peers, saw a mixed session on Wall Street.

Focus remained squarely on an upcoming inflation reading this week, which is likely to factor into expectations for interest rate cuts this year. 

S&P 500 Futures were flat at 5,517.25 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose slightly to 19,763.75 points by 19:08 ET (23:08 GMT). Dow Jones Futures were mildly higher at 38,868.0 points. 

Wall Street reels from Nvidia, chipmaking losses 

Wall Street indexes were reeling from steep losses in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and other heavyweight chipmaking stocks, as investors collected profits following a stellar rally in the sector over the past few months.

Nvidia bore a brunt of the selling, falling 6.7% and tumbling for a third straight session after it briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street last week. The stock lost another 1.1% in aftermarket trade. 

Still, Nvidia is up about 138% so far this year, with analysts remaining positive on the stock in the face of a massive artificial intelligence-driven demand boom. 

Other chipmaking stocks such as Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO), U.S. shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) and Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) steadied in aftermarket trade after tumbling on Monday.

Memory chip maker Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) was mildly lower before its quarterly earnings, which are due on Wednesday. 

Losses in chipmaking stocks sparked a mixed close on Wall Street. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 5,447.87 points, while the NASDAQ Composite slid 1.1% to 17,500.60 points. But the Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed on strength in sectors apart from tech, rising 0.7% to a one-month high of 39,411.21 points. 

Investors were seen pivoting out of tech and into more economically sensitive sectors in anticipation of key inflation data later this week, which is expected to offer more cues on interest rates.

PCE inflation awaited 

Focus this week was squarely on PCE price index data, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. 

The reading is due on Friday and is expected to show some mild cooling in inflation. But the PCE data is also widely expected to remain well above the Fed’s 2% annual target range. 

Sticky inflation is expected to delay any potential plans by the Fed to cut interest rates- a scenario that bodes poorly for stock markets. But expectations of eventual rate cuts drove a major melt-up in Wall Street over the past few months. 

Birkenstock, SolarEdge drop in aftermarket trade

Among major aftermarket movers, footwear maker Birkenstock Holding ltd (NYSE:BIRK) slid 5% after it said a top shareholder plans to offload 14 million shares in a public offering.

SolarEdge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG) fell 13.4% after it announced plans to offer $300 million in new debt.