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Stock futures moved higher on Monday following a negative week on Wall Street, as market participants prepared for a heavy calendar of corporate earnings, employment data, and the upcoming midterm elections. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.5%, and Nasdaq-100 futures increased 0.9%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 186 points, representing a 0.4% gain.
Wall Street Context and Asian Markets
These early gains follow a losing week for the three major stock averages, which faced pressure from selling in the technology sector as investors closely evaluated companies tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure. For the week, the S&P 500 and the Dow dropped less than 1%, whereas the Nasdaq Composite fell 2%. Across Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.38%, the Topix decreased 0.46%, South Korea’s Kospi gained 2.38%, and the Kosdaq rose 1.65%. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.53%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.61%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 grew 1.26%.
Artificial Intelligence Trends and Analyst Views
The week initially drew strength when Anthropic filed publicly for an initial public offering, lifting AI-related equities. Selling pressure returned later, however, after Alphabet and Microsoft issued lower-than-anticipated capital expenditure forecasts, and Amazon maintained its full-year capital expenditure guidance unchanged, prompting worries that spending might be slowing down. Warren Pies of 3Fourteen Research expressed limited concern, highlighting rising forward earnings estimates and noting positive aspects within Anthropic’s S-1 filing. Speaking on CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime” on Friday, he stated, “I just don’t see anything broken with the AI trade fundamentally.” He added, “Technicals are another story.”
Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 recorded negative returns in October driven by worries over artificial intelligence spending, with the Nasdaq experiencing its steepest losses since March 2025. Conversely, the Dow increased nearly 2% as market participants shifted capital toward defensive sectors like healthcare. Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategies at Horizon, noted in a report last week that investors are finding return opportunities in alternative stock categories instead of fleeing amid elevated artificial intelligence risks.
Upcoming Elections and Economic Data
Dickson further remarked that although the upcoming midterm elections cause anxiety for some investors regarding potential policy shifts in Washington, D.C., historical patterns show that equities generally remain stable regardless of which political party secures control of Congress. The elections take place on Tuesday, with expectations pointing toward Democrats winning control of the House of Representatives, while the outcome in the Senate remains undecided.
Beyond the political events, market participants are monitoring the October nonfarm payrolls report set for release on Friday. Dow Jones economists forecast the data will indicate an addition of 55,000 jobs during the month. Alongside the employment figures, a new wave of corporate earnings is slated for release, featuring Apple—a member of the “Magnificent Seven”—reporting after the closing bell on Monday, followed by McDonald’s and Qualcomm later in the week.
