Wall St futures mixed amid AI spending concerns; inflation data awaited

U.S. stock index futures displayed a mixed pattern on Sunday evening as investors debated the prospects of technology stocks rebounding following a significant decline last week. The market's attention remained focused on impending inflation data and earnings reports from companies in the artificial intelligence sector. The S&P 500 futures held steady at 7,403.50 points, whereas the Nasdaq 100 futures slipped by 0.2% to 27,033.75 points by 19:15 ET.

The Dow Jones Futures, on the other hand, gained 0.4% to 51,605.0 points. Premium stock market analysis could be acquired from InvestingPro, currently available at a 55% discount. Last Friday, the NASDAQ Composite index rose by 1.1%, the S&P 500 gained 0.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.5%. The week's overall decline, however, underscored persistent doubts about the long-term viability of the AI investment surge.

This recovery in Wall Street followed a sharp drop on Thursday when the Nasdaq plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 fell 4.4%, and the Dow Jones lost 3.4%. The technology downturn was partly attributed to fears that the Democrats' win in the mid-term elections might result in stricter regulation of artificial intelligence development and data center construction.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) remained a key topic of discussion, as the company's board announced the launch of an independent investigation into allegations that CEO Jensen Huang had been the victim of a foreign intelligence operation. Huang had also apologized to employees for an affair he had with a businesswoman, Alice Huang, who U.S. intelligence believes to be a Chinese spy.

Inflation readings were set to dominate the economic calendar, with the October consumer price index released on Tuesday and the producer price index data due on Friday. These figures would be closely examined to gauge the Federal Reserve's policy stance, especially as investors reconsidered the likelihood of additional rate hikes.

Markets were pricing in an 80% chance of another Fed rate increase at the December 8-9 meeting, according to CME FedWatch. The central bank had raised interest rates for the first time in three years in September, amid ongoing inflation issues. Corporate earnings from firms at the heart of the AI infrastructure boom would provide additional insight into demand and spending patterns.

CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV), a cloud computing company specializing in AI infrastructure, was scheduled to announce results on Tuesday. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), a chip equipment manufacturer, and networking giant Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) were set to release their earnings on Thursday.