On Monday, stock futures exhibited minimal movement following a rebound in technology shares, fueled by anticipation surrounding Nvidia’s inaugural artificial intelligence conference. However, as investors redirected their attention towards the Federal Reserve’s upcoming two-day policy meeting, signs of moderation appeared in Nvidia’s stock performance.
Futures linked to the S&P 500 edged down by 0.12%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures saw a slight decline of 8 points, equivalent to 0.02%. Similarly, Nasdaq 100 futures dipped by 0.22%. Despite a positive turn in regular trading, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite entered Monday’s session on the back of two-week losing streaks.
Nvidia, a leading player in the field of artificial intelligence, experienced a modest pullback of approximately 1% during extended trading. The decline followed the unveiling of Nvidia’s latest AI chip, dubbed Blackwell, during its first-ever GTC Conference. CEO Jensen Huang touted Blackwell as a significantly more potent successor to the company’s existing chips, which power numerous AI operations. Concurrently, tech giants such as Google-parent Alphabet and Apple witnessed gains on Monday, partly driven by reports suggesting negotiations between the two firms to integrate Google’s Gemini into iPhones.
As Wall Street braces for the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting commencing on Tuesday, market participants eagerly anticipate guidance regarding future monetary policy directions. Recent reports indicating worrisome inflation levels have instigated concerns among investors that the central bank might signal prolonged maintenance of higher interest rates. Nevertheless, fed funds futures presently project a 99% likelihood of the Fed maintaining benchmark interest rates unchanged this week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Sam Millete, director of fixed income at Commonwealth Financial Network, remarked, “The Fed is expected to dominate market sentiment this week as they conclude their March meeting on Wednesday afternoon. It’s poised to be an intriguing meeting, as markets anticipate no interest rate adjustments, with no changes priced into the following meeting either.”
