U.S. Tech Futures Down Ahead of Shortened Trading Week

By Dow Jones Newswires Staff

U.S. equity futures were down in subdued trade as investors enter a shortened trading week after the Presidents Day holiday. Chinese and Korean markets were among those closed for Lunar New Year, while equities in Japan fell. In Europe, a quiet start to trading saw blue-chip indexes mostly rise. Continuing anxiety around both artificial-intelligence spending and competition lingered in the U.S., with futures tied to the tech-dominated Nasdaq falling 0.7%.

Oil prices slipped in early trading ahead of direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Geneva later on Tuesday, while the dollar climbed to an 11-day high against a basket of currencies ahead of a busy week of economic data. Gold held below $5,000 a troy ounce. Traders await U.S. ADP employment figures due Tuesday, as well as inflation readings from the U.S. and Japan later this week.

--U.S. equity futures fell in early European trade, with the tech-dominated Nasdaq down 0.6% premarket. Futures tied to the Magnificent 7 tech stocks were mostly in the red, though Amazon was the one exception, gaining 0.2% premarket, as the stock looks to break a nine-day losing streak. Futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively.

--Lunar New Year celebrations closed markets in mainland China, Hong Kong and Korea and thinned trading elsewhere. The Japanese Nikkei 225 closed down 0.2%, its fourth consecutive fall, with investment group and tech bellwether SoftBank down 5.1% at the close. Chinese markets will remain closed through Monday. Markets are expected to reopen Thursday in Korea and Friday in Hong Kong.

--European indexes were largely up on calm trading without big stock swings at the open. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.4% after closing at another record high Monday. InterContinental Hotels Group was up 3% after growing revenue, while miners in the index fell. The German DAX slipped 0.15% as the index's second largest constituent, Siemens, nudged down 0.3% after falling 6.4% Monday. Autos in the index gained. Moves were muted for stocks in Spain's IBEX 35 and Italy's FTSE MIB, as the indexes gained 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. The CAC 40 rose 0.1% in Paris, despite industrials dragging on the index with defense group Thales down 2.3%. Software company Capgemini climbed 1.5% amid broader gains for software stocks.

--The dollar rose to a near one-week high against a basket of currencies, supported by safe-haven flows as U.S. traders returned from Monday's Presidents Day holiday. U.S. stock futures turned lower amid fears of potential future AI disruptions, which have weighed on a number of industries and dented risk sentiment. Meanwhile, investors are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes on Wednesday, followed by fourth-quarter economic growth data and PCE inflation data Friday for further clues on the timing of the next interest-rate cut. The DXY dollar index rose to a high of 97.247.

Sterling fell to an 11-day low against the dollar and a near one-week low versus the euro.

--U.S. Treasury yields fell across maturities in Asian trade, as markets continued to anticipate interest-rate cuts by the Fed this year after data showed deceleration in January inflation data Friday. Money markets currently price in about 65 basis points of Fed rate cuts this year, with the first fully priced rate cut expected in July, while June also remains a possibility, according to LSEG data. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 3.1 basis points to 4.024%.

Eurozone government bond yields fell in early trade, tracking U.S. Treasurys. Tuesday's potential movers include German and Finnish bond auctions as well as the German ZEW economic sentiment index. The 10-year German Bund yield fell 1.9 bps to 2.735%, close to an 11-week low of 2.729% hit on Monday, according to LSEG.

Strain in the U.K. labor market spurred expectations of a near-term Bank of England interest-rate cut. The unemployment rate in the country rose 5.2% in the final quarter of 2025, while wage growth slowed, data released Tuesday showed. Two-year gilt yields fell to an 18-month low of 3.557% after the data. Ten-year gilt yields fell 2.8 bps to last trade at 4.366%.

--Bitcoin and ether fell as U.S. stock futures declined amid continuing fears about potential AI disruption. Investors await key U.S. economic indicators this week, with PCE inflation data and fourth-quarter growth data due Friday. "The key question this week is whether macro stability, particularly around Fed communication and inflation data, can reignite consistent exchange traded fund inflows [for cryptocurrencies]," Saxo Bank analysts said in a note. Bitcoin falls 0.8% to $68,279, LSEG data showed. Ether drops 0.7% to $1,984.

--Oil prices fell ahead of U.S.-Iran talks. Brent crude was down 0.9% to $68 a barrel, while WTI slipped 0.8% to $62.66 a barrel. "Thin liquidity due to Lunar New Year holidays has limited broader price moves," ING analysts said. Tensions, however, remained high, with prices likely to stay volatile in the near term. According to media reports, Iran held live military exercises on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz--a critical oil transit chokepoint--heightening concerns about potential disruptions to regional flows if a diplomatic solution isn't reached. Investors are also watching for U.S.-brokered talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials.

--Gold prices slipped back below $5,000 in thin trading. Futures in New York fell 2.2% to $4,937.40 a troy ounce. "Liquidity conditions remain thin, particularly across metals," Sucden Financial analysts said. "Unless speculative sentiment re-emerges decisively, this backdrop is likely to keep price action contained within relatively narrow ranges over the near term."

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-17-26 0443ET