Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell on Jan. 27, 2025 in New York City.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images
S&P 500 futures were slightly higher early Tuesday, following a sell-off fueled by worries over the emergence of Chinese startup DeepSeek and its greater implications for the artificial intelligence trade.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.6%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.06%.
Select tech shares attempted to claw back losses in after-hours trading after the day’s steep sell-off in companies tied to artificial intelligence. Nvidia added more than 1% in after-hours trading after suffering a nearly 17% decline on Monday, which resulted in a market cap loss of nearly $600 billion — the biggest one-day drop for a U.S. company in history. Broadcom and Oracle also traded higher.
Concerns over DeepSeek came to a head on Monday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite losing more than 3%, while the S&P 500 slid about 1.5%. The Chinese startup last month unveiled a free open-source large language model that it says took less than $6 million to build. The development spurred worries around Big Tech’s investment into AI. DeepSeek surpassed rival OpenAI on Monday to become the most-downloaded free app in the U.S. on Apple’s App Store.
“Valuations remain extended, and while vulnerabilities were expected this year, developments like DeepSeek highlight the need for diversification beyond the Mag 7,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. “The 2025 theme of US exceptionalism is now facing uncertainty, with ongoing concerns around tariffs and inflation adding to market challenges.”
Investors’ attention is turning toward corporate earnings due this week. Starbucks and Boeing are due to report Tuesday. A slate of Magnificent Seven companies will report in the coming days, with Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Tesla and Apple due later this week.
The Federal Reserve will also kick off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. Fed funds futures are pricing in a 97% chance that interest rates will remain unchanged, according to CMEGroup’s FedWatch Tool. Inflation data out Friday will give investors further insight on the health of the U.S. economy
