S&P 500 futures are up following yesterday’s first ATH since June; both tech and small caps are lagging, pointing to another potential broadening. A jump in US tech stocks is holding too, with Nasdaq-100 contracts rising after a 3.3% surge in the session before, powered by semiconductor stocks and blowout Palantir earnings. S&P futures are up 0.4%, just shy of 7800, a new all time high, while Nasdaq futures underperform, rising 0.2%, as results from AMD and SpaceX failed to impress, sending shares in both lower in after-hours trading. AMD’s forecast didn’t meet high expectations, while SpaceX investors focused on the hikes being made to its AI spending. Semis/memory are lower with some likely profit-taking after yesterday’s surge; NVDA/GOOG are leading Mag7 names higher as it appears that squeeze portion of this rally has room left to run, as JPM says keep an eye on IGV as the squeeze may turn into a narrative shift flipping one of the lightest owned sub-sectors into a leader in the near-term. Germany’s Infineon, up 69% this year, picks up the baton for European semiconductor sector results Wednesday. Tuesday gains have fed into a bounce for the Kospi and Nikkei 225 in Asia. Euro Stoxx 50 futures are also up 0.4%. The mood in stocks and in bonds has been bolstered by oil prices continuing to ease off, with Brent slipping below $79/bbl before rising above $80 as Houthi rebels threaten Saudi shipping north of the Red Sea and the UKMTO reported a ship sunk off Yemen after it was attacked by an unmanned craft. Qatar said a proposal had been drafted and both American and Iranian officials sounded hopeful about reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Treasury yields are dipping, while yields are down in Japan, Australia and New Zealand, the latter after weak quarterly jobs data. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is softer,
