Story
AI Stocks Lead Premarket Rally as Oil Tumbles on Easing Mideast Tensions
Summary
U.S. stock futures climbed, with technology shares gaining on positive AI-related news while energy stocks declined after a sharp drop in crude oil prices eased inflation concerns.
U.S. stock futures climbed Monday morning as a sharp decline in oil prices soothed inflation worries, while a series of positive updates sent shares of artificial intelligence-related companies surging in premarket trading. The rally pointed to a strong start for Wall Street ahead of a critical week featuring a Federal Reserve policy decision and earnings from several technology giants.
Market Snapshot
By 6:48 AM ET, futures tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 had surged 1.61%. S&P 500 futures rose 1.01%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 1.03%, according to Investing.com data.
The positive sentiment followed a week of losses for the major indexes. Investor risk appetite was boosted by a significant drop in crude oil prices after reports suggested a pause in military action between the United States and Iran, easing fears of a wider conflict that could disrupt global energy supplies.
AI and Tech Stocks Lead Gains
Several companies linked to the artificial intelligence sector saw significant premarket gains on specific corporate and policy news.
Ad- D-Wave Quantum: Shares jumped 11% after the company announced that AT&T was expanding its use of D-Wave's quantum computing technology to optimize its network operations.
- CoreWeave and Nebius Group: Shares rose 4% and 6%, respectively, following a Wall Street Journal report that Nvidia is in talks to provide substantial financing for an OpenAI data center project.
- SK Hynix: The chipmaker's U.S.-traded shares gained 6.2% after the South Korean government unveiled a major new AI initiative.
Energy Sector Declines as Oil Prices Tumble
In contrast to the tech rally, energy stocks fell sharply as oil prices retreated on signs of de-escalation in the Middle East. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped over 8% to trade around $90 per barrel.
The decline in crude prices weighed on the sector's shares. Major producers like Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum both fell by more than 3% in premarket activity.
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