U.S. stock futures moved lower early Tuesday, as investors weighed new comments from Federal Reserve officials and a flood of corporate earnings while locking in profits after a volatile start to November.
Futures Edge Down
By 02:58 ET, Dow futures were down 0.7% (313 points), S&P 500 futures dropped 0.9% (61 points), and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.2% (311 points). The pullback follows a mixed Monday session, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost ground while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite managed modest gains.
Markets remain cautious as investors monitor dealmaking activity and economic data for direction. Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) said it would acquire Band-Aid maker Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) in a $40 billion deal, though analysts noted potential legal headwinds for Kenvue. Meanwhile, OpenAI announced a $38 billion partnership with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) for cloud computing, marking the ChatGPT developer’s first major strategic move since its recent corporate overhaul.
Fed Commentary Adds Uncertainty
Federal Reserve officials’ latest remarks have added to market indecision. Fed Governor Lisa Cook, speaking publicly for the first time since former President Donald Trump’s failed bid to remove her, said that debate continues within the Fed over how to balance employment and inflation objectives. Cook described December’s meeting as a “live” one, implying that the outcome on rates remains undecided.
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly called last week’s rate cut a form of “insurance” to shield the labor market from further weakness but emphasized that she will keep an “open mind” heading into the next policy meeting.
Palantir Slides Despite Beating Estimates
Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) shares fell in after-hours trading despite another quarter of record performance. The data analytics and defense software company reported net profit of $475.6 million on revenue of $1.18 billion, both exceeding Wall Street estimates.
CEO Alex Karp said the company is “now producing more profit in a single quarter than it did in revenue not long ago.” Palantir also projected higher fourth-quarter sales, driven by surging demand for its AI-powered data tools.
Despite strong fundamentals, Palantir’s stock—up 175% year-to-date—came under pressure amid renewed skepticism over inflated valuations in the AI sector. The weakness spread to other major tech names in European trading.
AMD Earnings on Deck
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) will report earnings after the market close, following an active quarter for AI-related deals. According to Reuters, the U.S. Department of Energy has formed a $1 billion partnership with AMD to build supercomputers for cancer research and national security applications.
AMD also recently signed a multi-year chip supply agreement with OpenAI, a deal expected to generate billions in annual revenue and give the AI startup a 10% stake in AMD. Company executives described the partnership as “certainly transformative” for both businesses and the broader AI ecosystem. AMD shares have surged over 115% this year, reflecting investor optimism surrounding the chip industry.
BP Tops Forecasts
BP (NYSE:BP) posted third-quarter adjusted net income of $2.21 billion, ahead of expectations of $2.02 billion, helped by stronger refining margins that offset lower crude prices. The energy giant maintained its $750 million share buyback and confirmed it still expects $5 billion in asset sales this year.
“We’ve delivered another quarter of good performance across the business with operations continuing to run well,” said CEO Murray Auchincloss.
“We are looking to accelerate delivery of our plans, including undertaking a thorough review of our portfolio to drive simplification and targeting further improvements in cost performance and efficiency,” he added.
BP ended the quarter with net debt of $26.05 billion, up slightly from $24.27 billion a year earlier, as the company continues executing a strategic overhaul to simplify its operations.
Norway Fund Pushes Back on Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Package
The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest investor, announced it will vote against Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) proposed $1 trillion compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk, raising concerns about its scale and governance implications.
The fund said that while it “appreciate[s] the significant value created under Mr. Musk’s visionary role,” it remains “concerned about the total size of the award, dilution, and lack of mitigation of key person risk.”
With a 1.2% stake in Tesla, Norway’s fund ranks as the automaker’s sixth-largest institutional shareholder. Other major investors—including BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street—have yet to disclose how they plan to vote.
Tesla will present the results at its annual shareholder meeting later this week, where Musk’s record-setting pay plan will be the central issue. The proposal would award him an additional 12% stake in Tesla if he drives the company’s valuation to $8.5 trillion within the next decade, aligning with his push to transform Tesla into an AI and robotics powerhouse.
Palantir Technologies stock price