By Shashwat Chauhan and Twesha Dikshit (Reuters) -Futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ticked up on Monday, kicking off a packed week that includes AI giant Nvidia's earnings and a resumption of government data releases, while Alphabet jumped after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a stake in the company. Google-parent Alphabet gained 4.3% in premarket trading after Berkshire Hathaway revealed a new $4.3 billion stake in the company and further reduced its stake in Apple. Apple shares, down 0.8%, lagged most megacap and growth stocks. Nvidia's shares dropped 0.8% ahead of its quarterly earnings after markets close on Wednesday. The company has been the pacesetter for AI-related stocks that have propped up several tech names in this year's Wall Street rally. "With concerns about AI valuations persisting, Nvidia's Q3 results will act as a crucial bellwether for the sector," Raffi Boyadjian, lead market analyst at XM wrote in a note. At 07:05 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 28 points, or 0.06%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 6.25 points, or 0.09%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 59 points, or 0.24%. The quarterly earnings season will start to thin out this week, though not before earnings from retail giants Walmart, Home Depot and Target through the week. Of the 456 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings for the quarter, 82.7% topped profit estimates compared with a long-term average of 67.2%, according to data compiled by LSEG. With the longest government shutdown in U.S. history officially ending last week, key data releases from government agencies are expected in the next few days. The much-delayed September jobs report will also be released on Thursday, but may do little more than confirm earlier private market surveys showing a slowing labor market. Traders currently see a more than 56% chance that the Federal Reserve will hold its rate steady in December compared with a near 94% chance of a 25-basis-point cut seen a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. On Monday, at least four Fed speakers including Governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed President John Williams are slated to speak throughout the day. Minutes from the Fed's October meeting – where it cut rates by an expected 25 basis points – are due on Wednesday. U.S. stocks have run into turbulence of late as investors fretted about the pace of rate cuts and elevated valuations of heavyweight technology stocks that have been one of the key drivers of markets this year. The S&P 500 and the Dow clocked marginal weekly gains on Friday, while the Nasdaq recorded a mild weekly fall. Among other movers, shares of Clearwater Analytics rose 12% after reports private equity firms Warburg Pincus and Permira were in talks to buy the investment and accounting software maker. E.W. Scripps jumped 20.3% after a Wall Street Journal report said Sinclair built a roughly 8% stake in the local broadcaster in a bid to acquire it. Quantum Computing rose 17.1% after the photonics and quantum optics tech provider reported higher third-quarter revenue. (Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)
