Traders work as the market opens on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on November 18, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Stock futures are little changed Tuesday night after major U.S. indexes extended their losses, driven again by pressure in tech shares. Investors are now readying for Nvidia’s earnings report to inform the strength of the AI trade.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 36 points, hovering near the flatline. S&P futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both added less than 0.1%.
Tuesday’s session saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 notch their fourth consecutive losing days, with the S&P 500 notching its longest slide since August. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite recorded its fifth negative day in six sessions. Bitcoin briefly dropped below $90,000 on Tuesday before recovering, while gold prices rose from a one-week low.
Most sectors in the broader market closed up higher on Tuesday but key tech names once again weighed on stocks, with hot AI stocks such as Nvidia, Palantir, Microsoft and Advanced Micro Devices closing in the red. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) closed 1.6% lower. Technology and consumer discretionary have been the most beaten-down sectors this month, while health care stands out as the best performer.
Weakness in tech comes ahead of Nvidia’s highly awaited third-quarter results due after Wednesday’s market close. Analysts largely expect that Nvidia — the largest company in the broad-market index — will meaningfully beat Wall Street’s expectations and forecast strong sales growth driven by demand for its AI chips and other infrastructure. But Nvidia has a high bar to beat. Investors have taken profits from their tech holdings in recent days, reflecting heightened concerns that the AI boom has run up the valuations of Nvidia and other tech hyperscalers at an unsustainable pace.
Investors are also waiting for earnings reports from major retailers Target, Lowe’s and TJX Companies on Wednesday morning. Results could give investors a stronger picture of how consumer spending is faring, particularly given the lack of economic data in recent weeks due to the U.S. government shutdown.
“Tech has been flying high this year and so volatility is not surprising. … Volatility amongst tech stocks is also boosted by the fact that there’s a lot of concentration risk, both at the index level and even investor portfolios,” said Sonu Varghese, global macro strategist at Carson Group. “Despite the big gains, investors with concentrated portfolios that are mainly exposed to AI-related stocks remain on edge and susceptible to any pullback. The dynamic is probably made worse as a lot of investors try to diversify at the same time when stocks fall.”
