U.S. stock index futures remained muted Tuesday following a sharp rally in the previous session as tech stocks bounced off a bruising rout, with investors looking out for retail sales numbers that kick off a series of key data releases this week.
The Dow notched its second consecutive closing record high on Monday, while the S&P 500 closed a few points shy of its January peak.
The Nasdaq, despite being knocked back by the tech selloff last week, is about 3% away from its all-time high, with diversification away from pricey tech shares helping undervalued pockets of the market including small and midcap companies.
At 7:23 a.m. EST, Dow E-minis were up 7 points, or 0.01%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 9.75 points, or 0.14%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 37.50 points, or 0.15%.
The focus this week will be on the delayed nonfarm payrolls data, followed by the crucial inflation data that will set expectations for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday that U.S. job gains could be lower in the coming months due to slower labor force growth and higher productivity.
Markets currently expect the Fed to keep rates on hold until June, at which point U.S. President Donald Trump's Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh could take helm at the central bank if confirmed by the Senate.
Meanwhile, earnings continued to draw investor attention with consumer names Coca-Cola and Hasbro, along with Spotify, CVS Health and Harley-Davidson reporting before the bell.
Onsemi's shares dropped 4.5% in premarket trading after the chipmaker missed Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter revenue.
The AI trade has come under renewed scrutiny with ballooning capital expenditure projections and concerns over measurable returns weighing on investor sentiment.
The next test will be chip giant Nvidia's results later this month.
"Whether the market is reassessing its positioning in value areas of the equity market and now seeing software as more than a short-term trade, and whether investors are pushing back into core AI winners, remains to be seen," said Pepperstone's Chris Weston in a note.
Software shares have faced the brunt of shifting investor expectations after a steep selloff last week fueled by fears of competition from AI tools.
Despite clawing back some losses in the previous two sessions, S&P 500's software index has lost 16% so far this year.
Among other movers, Upwork shares slumped almost 23% after the freelance marketplace platform's first-quarter outlook disappointed.
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