U.S. stock futures pointed to a stronger open on Monday, signaling a positive start to the week after markets ended Friday’s session on a mixed note.
Technology shares are expected to lead early gains, with Nasdaq 100 futures rising 0.9 percent in pre-market trading.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) surged 35.7 percent before the opening bell after the company revealed a 6-gigawatt partnership with OpenAI to power the AI firm’s next-generation infrastructure. The agreement covers several generations of AMD Instinct GPUs. As part of the deal, OpenAI received a warrant to purchase up to 160 million AMD shares, which will vest as performance milestones are met.
Market sentiment also improved amid renewed enthusiasm for mergers and acquisitions. Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) announced plans to acquire Comerica (NYSE:CMA) in an all-stock deal valued at $10.9 billion. Comerica’s shares jumped 14.1 percent in pre-market trading. Under the terms, Comerica investors will receive 1.8663 Fifth Third shares per Comerica share, equating to $82.88 per share based on Fifth Third’s Friday closing price.
Investors appear largely unfazed by the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, now in its sixth day, as lawmakers continue to struggle to agree on a temporary funding measure.
Stocks had traded mostly higher last week, though Friday’s session saw a retreat from intraday highs. The Nasdaq slipped 63.54 points (0.3%) to 22,780.51, while the S&P 500 inched up 0.44 points to 6,715.79, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 238.56 points (0.5%) to 46,758.28.
Despite the uneven close, all three indexes posted solid weekly gains — the Nasdaq climbed 1.3 percent, while the Dow and S&P 500 each advanced 1.1 percent. Both the Dow and S&P 500 extended their winning streak to six sessions, finishing at record highs, supported by strength in UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH), Travelers (NYSE:TRV), and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT).
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq’s weakness was partly driven by declines in several major tech names. Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) plunged 7.5 percent after a Reuters report cited a U.S. Army memo highlighting “fundamental security flaws” in the company’s battlefield communications modernization project.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) dropped 1.4 percent, and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) slipped 0.7 percent after reaching a record high on Thursday.
The broader market’s subdued tone reflected the uncertainty caused by the postponement of key economic data due to the shutdown — including the monthly jobs report.
However, private data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve may continue cutting interest rates. Earlier in the week, ADP reported a surprise drop in private-sector employment, and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released weaker-than-expected data showing its services PMI fell to 50.0 in September from 52.0 in August — the breakeven level between growth and contraction. Economists had forecast a reading of 51.7.
Most market sectors closed Friday with modest moves. Healthcare stocks outperformed, pushing the Dow Jones Health Care Index up 1.1 percent to its highest level in over six months. Telecom, banking, and airline shares also showed resilience, while retail and semiconductor stocks lagged behind.
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