Nasdaq 100 futures climb while S&P futures inch up ahead of U.S. midterms

U.S. stock index futures largely climbed on Tuesday, as the artificial intelligence trade remained squarely in the headlines. Wall Street saw a volatile previous session, marked by initial gains that were wiped out as the AI trade came under pressure again. 

The main highlight of the day was American midterm elections, the results of which could potentially affect several sectors ranging from technology to utilities. Investors also digested a fresh batch of tech sector earnings, including quarterly results from Apple. 

The long-awaited U.S. midterms are now in sharp focus. At play is control over the two chambers of the U.S. Congress, which is currently dominated by majorities from President Donald Trump’s Republican Party.

Affordability is set to be a central issue as Americans head to the polls. Energy prices have spiked since the beginning of Trump’s war with Iran, fueling an increase in the costs of items like gasoline and diesel, although strong consumer spending and artificial intelligence investments have helped prop up wider U.S. growth. Oil prices edged higher Tuesday after falling sharply in the previous session, as a reported U.S. strike on Iran’s Qeshm Island revived concerns about disruptions to recovering Middle East supplies.

Some voters have also expressed concerns over the impact of AI on jobs and the proliferation of huge data centers needed to underpin cutting-edge AI systems. Trump has been a champion of the AI industry, arguing that the U.S. must beat rival China in the race to harness the technology.

"Welcome to midterms day and markets go into it again caught in the crosswinds between energy and AI themes," analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a note.

Apple dips amid margin concerns

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) retreated more than 4% in premarket trading after the iPhone-maker forecast slightly below-consensus gross margin for the current quarter, citing mounting headwinds from soaring global memory-chip prices. 

Gross margin is expected to be between 45% to 46%, below Street expectations of 46.9%. CEO John Ternus, who took over from Tim Cook in September, said rising memory costs were “unprecedented,” and that prices were likely to increase in this quarter and beyond. 

The California-based tech giant also projected a slowdown in revenue at its services segment, partially because of headwinds from unfavorable currency markets, regulations, and a sustained slowdown in mobile gaming. 

Still, Apple exceeded top and bottom-line estimates for the September quarter, aided chiefly by strong sales of its new iPhone 18 line. The company’s first foldable phone was also launched to outsized demand in October, although Apple warned that supplies of the device were likely to be constrained in the near-term. 

Apple announced a new version of its Siri voice assistance, but offered few cues on its plans to integrate more AI into its services. The company is widely regarded as a large-cap haven amid broader AI jitters, given its relatively low exposure to the technology. 

Among other premarket movers, Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) fell 6% as some concerns over future bookings overshadowed otherwise solid earnings from the AI-focused data analytics group. 

Ambar Warrick and Anuron Mitra contributed to this article