U.S. stock futures edged lower early Tuesday as investors braced for another volatile session following a broad selloff that swept through global markets. Concerns over whether the recent frenzy around artificial intelligence can be sustained weighed heavily on equities, gold, and Bitcoin, with major Wall Street benchmarks falling through a key technical indicator used to gauge near-term momentum. The day also brings fresh insights into U.S. consumer health as Home Depot prepares to report earnings, while Microsoft opens a high-profile developers event where its AI strategy is expected to take center stage.
Futures Extend Losses
Futures tied to the major U.S. indices pointed to continued weakness after Monday’s sharp drop.
As of 03:12 ET, Dow futures were down 146 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures slipped 28 points, or 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 124 points, or 0.5%.
All three major benchmarks closed below their 50-day moving averages on Monday — a level closely monitored by traders for signs of shifting market direction. Selling intensified into the afternoon, with tech stocks bearing the heaviest losses. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which reports critical quarterly numbers later this week, fell 1.9%, dragging peers such as Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) lower.
Analysts at Vital Knowledge said traders appeared “jittery” and “nervous”, particularly after Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) $12 billion bond issuance stoked fears that massive AI-related spending on data centers is increasingly being funded through debt rather than cash flow or equity.
Even a fresh record high for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) — helped by a new stake from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) — was not enough to stabilize sentiment.
Waller Repeats Call for December Rate Cut
Despite the downturn, stocks saw a modest late-day bounce after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller again pushed for a December rate cut. Waller pointed to private-sector hiring data — used temporarily during the federal shutdown — suggesting the labor market was moving at “stall speed” in September and October.
He argued that another quarter-point cut at next month’s meeting would “provide additional insurance against an acceleration” in the cooling of employment conditions.
Still, the December decision remains uncertain. Several Fed officials have cautioned against reducing rates until full government-issued data becomes available and shows more definitive signs of weakness.
Home Depot Earnings Take Center Stage
Home Depot (NYSE:HD) headlines today’s corporate calendar, kicking off a week packed with retail results that could offer clearer visibility into consumer spending patterns. Shares of the home-improvement chain have dropped more than 8% over the past month, reflecting growing investor caution around discretionary spending and the broader housing market slowdown.
Rising raw-material costs — exacerbated by President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging import tariffs — have pressured margins for Home Depot and rival Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW). Both retailers have passed higher costs on to customers, although analysts believe last month’s trade thaw between Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping may reduce some of the cost burden going forward.
Strategists also note that lower interest rates from the Fed could help revive demand for renovation and DIY projects that homeowners have postponed due to high borrowing costs.
Consensus estimates call for a 1.5% increase in comparable sales for Home Depot’s third quarter, reversing a 1.3% decline a year earlier, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.
Microsoft Developer Conference to Spotlight AI Infrastructure
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) opens its annual developer conference today in San Francisco, where investors expect new details on the company’s aggressive data-center expansion tied to surging AI demand.
A recent report from The Wall Street Journal said Microsoft plans to build next-generation two-story AI “super factories” in Georgia as part of an effort to double its global data-center footprint within two years. The facilities would be used to help train the company’s proprietary AI models.
In the fiscal first quarter alone, Microsoft spent over $34 billion on capital investment and signaled further increases ahead — part of a broader wave of AI spending that could reach $400 billion this year across the tech giants.
Bitcoin Wipes Out All 2025 Gains
Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) briefly dipped below $91,000 early Tuesday in the latest leg of a deepening downturn that has spilled over into the wider crypto sector. The cryptocurrency has now erased all gains accumulated in 2025 and trades more than 25% below its record high reached just over a month ago.
Analysts note that mounting uncertainty over the U.S. economic outlook and the Fed’s rate trajectory has dimmed the appeal of speculative assets. Spot Bitcoin ETFs are also seeing rising outflows as investors unwind positions built around expectations of looser monetary policy.
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