NEW YORK, June 1, 2026, 06:01 EDT
- Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures pointed up early in U.S. trading as Nvidia and Microsoft led gains.
- Brent crude traded close to $94 as fresh U.S.-Iran tensions kept inflation concerns and rate worries in focus.
- Traders are looking at a packed week with several Fed speakers, the Beige Book out, and the May jobs data coming Friday.
U.S. stock-index futures traded higher Monday, as Wall Street looked set to build on last week’s records. Nvidia’s newest move in artificial intelligence gave tech heavyweights a boost, helping futures hold up despite oil prices climbing again on concerns about the Middle East. Stock-index futures are contracts that indicate where investors think major indexes will be at the cash open.
Dow futures added 143 points, or 0.28%, while S&P 500 futures edged up 17.5 points, or 0.23%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 86.75 points, or 0.29% as of 05:18 a.m. ET, according to Reuters. Nvidia climbed 1.6% before the bell after announcing a chip for AI on laptops and desktops. Microsoft was up 2.8% in premarket trading.
Wall Street just put in a strong performance for May. The major U.S. indexes finished at all-time highs Friday, with the Dow gaining 0.72%, the S&P 500 up 0.22%, and the Nasdaq adding 0.21%. Dell’s forecast supported tech shares and kept cash moving into the sector.
Brent crude futures jumped almost 3% to near $94 a barrel following renewed attacks in the Gulf, Reuters said. That’s bringing worries back about how pricier energy could stoke inflation and make the Fed’s job harder. The 10-year Treasury yield, a key gauge for longer U.S. borrowing, moved up to around 4.46%.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the new RTX Spark PC chip is the result of three years working with Microsoft to “reinvent the PC” for AI. Counterpoint Research co-founder Neil Shah said the chip has the potential to move the PC away from apps and toward an “Agentic AI” machine, meaning software that acts more independently instead of just replying to prompts. Reuters
The update weighed on chipmakers. AMD dropped 3.4% and Intel lost 2.9% before the open. Qualcomm also slid as Nvidia’s move brought attention to on-device AI. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said 2026 is shaping up as “the year of agents,” adding that always-on AI agents will need a different computing setup. Reuters
AI-driven gains lifted more chip stocks. Cadence Design Systems jumped 8.2% after it rolled out an autonomous chip-design tool using Nvidia tech. Micron gained 5.3% to end at $1,022, its first time closing above $1,000 after rallying in May. Broadcom, now the second-biggest U.S. chipmaker after Nvidia by market cap, will report earnings on Wednesday.
Broadcom’s last update has traders watching the upcoming report. CEO Hock Tan said back in March that first-quarter AI revenue was up 106% year over year to $8.4 billion. The company also guided to $10.7 billion in AI semiconductor revenue for the second quarter.
Macro numbers could shape the mood early. Investors await the ISM manufacturing data, a batch of Fed speakers, the Fed’s Beige Book on regional business, and Friday’s May jobs number. According to Reuters, forecasts call for an 85,000 increase in jobs and unemployment steady at 4.3%.
Fed officials expected this week are likely to stick with a more balanced message, keeping both rate hikes and cuts on the table based on the data, said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at Pepperstone. Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said a U.S.-Iran deal delay “could knock market sentiment.” Reuters
Stocks are banking on the AI earnings story to offset rising oil, higher yields, and geopolitical issues. That strategy can hold up in the short term. But a strong jobs report, more gains in oil prices, or renewed Gulf tensions could quickly drive Treasury yields up again and put pressure on pricey tech stocks before the start of trading.
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