S&P500 and Nasdaq: AI Doubts and Metals Volatility Pressure US Stock Market Today

Stock Futures Slip as AI Valuations Get Questioned and Metals Add to the Noise

U.S. stock index futures are pointing lower Monday as investors keep chewing on AI valuations. It’s shaping up to be a stock picker’s day — Disney and Nvidia are already making headlines. But stocks aren’t the only thing moving. Volatility in gold, silver, and bitcoin is weighing on sentiment too.

There’s no central theme here. No big economic catalyst. Non-Farm Payrolls don’t drop until Friday. I’m not calling for a major sell-off, but all three major indexes are hovering near their 50-day moving averages — and that’s often where the acceleration starts.

At 13:33 GMT, Dow Futures are trading 48973.00, down 35.00 or -0.07%. The S&P 500 Index is at 6938.00, down 27.75 or -0.40%. The Nasdaq Composite is at 25498.50, down 171.50 or -0.67%.

S&P 500 Whipsaws Around the 50-Day

The E-mini S&P 500 futures contract had a whipsaw morning. Prices turned negative for the year, hit 6864.50, then recovered most of the sell-off. The index also briefly crossed below the 50-day moving average at 6914.75 before bouncing back through it.

The way I see it, trader reaction to the 50-day moving average at 6914.75 is likely to determine today’s direction. A sustained move over 6914.75 signals buyers are in control. But the index still faces resistance at 6995.00 and 7029.50 before it can take another shot at the record high at 7043.00.

Stock Movers

Disney rose 2% after beating earnings expectations. The experiences unit reported more than $10 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time. Nvidia dropped 1.8% after reports its $100 billion OpenAI investment stalled, though CEO Jensen Huang said a “huge investment” is still planned.

Oracle traded more than 3% higher after announcing plans to raise up to $50 billion to increase AI capacity. Rare earths companies moved higher after Bloomberg reported Trump is set to invest $12 billion in a critical minerals stockpile. Critical Metals advanced 8%, while Energy Fuels and Idaho Strategic Resources gained 5% and 1%.

Newmont and Freeport-McMoRan added about 1% as gold and silver rebounded from Friday’s correction. Tesla shed 2% following reports Waymo is raising $16 billion. Strategy dropped 7% as bitcoin pulled back under $80,000.

Big Week Ahead

More than 100 S&P 500 companies report this week, including Amazon and Alphabet. Wall Street also awaits Friday’s January jobs report. Economists expect 55,000 jobs were added last month.

Stocks are coming off a losing session after Trump named Kevin Warsh as his Fed chairman nominee.

More Information in our Economic Calendar.