Sep 21 (Reuters) – Wall Street futures advanced on Monday, led by AI stocks, as a 2% slide in oil prices pulled Treasury yields lower on signs the warring parties in the Middle East were open to a resolution.
A week ago, doomsday calls from bosses at top AI companies sparked a rout in the sector, but those concerns appeared to dissipate as investors focused on signs that spending on developing the technology was still expanding.
Chip companies such as Intel rose 5.4%, Marvell added 2.6%, Meta climbed 2.4% and Dell advanced 2.7%. Accenture gained 6% after partnering with Anthropic to invest $2 billion in AI evaluation.
Iran and the US continued to exchange new threats through the weekend, but president Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to be in New York this week for the UN General Assembly.
A fall in crude prices eased the pressure on equities, as the 10-year US bond yield slipped below the keenly watched 5% mark. Energy price-sensitive airlines such as Delta and American gained about 1% each.
A spike in inflation has prompted the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates for the first time in three years. Markets see a 53% chance of another rate hike next month, the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showed.
Commentary from at least 10 policymakers is lined up this week, starting with Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee on Monday, that could offer traders more clarity on the outlook for rates.
At 05:09 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 311 points, or 0.6%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 48.75 points, or 0.63%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 327.25 points, or 1.09%.
Also aiding sentiment was a diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Denmark over the weekend regarding the status of Greenland, which is likely to keep trade tensions between the two countries at bay.
US-listed shares of companies exposed to Greenland advanced. Critical Metals soared 30%, Greenland Mines shot up 70% and Greenland Energy more than doubled.
Diplomacy will be in focus on Thursday at a China-US summit that could likely touch topics including an extension of the trade truce between the two superpowers, the Iran war and regulation on AI advancement. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng concluded talks on Sunday at which Bessent proposed a new AI safety notification mechanism.
Bitcoin, a key risk sentiment gauge, added 3.5% to hit a more than seven-month high, lifting Coinbase up 4.6% and Strategy up 6.8%.
Warner Bros rose 7.6% after a report that Paramount and California’s attorney general discussed concessions in advanced settlement negotiations that could help close the proposed merger between the two companies.
(Reporing by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
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