US pre-open: Tech stocks fall pre-market as investors await Nvidia earnings

(Sharecast News) - US stock futures were pointing to a weaker start when Wall Street opens on Tuesday, as bond yields continued to inch higher, while investors refrained from taking on too much risk ahead of Nvidia's eagerly anticipated earnings report.

Up 2.3 basis points at 4.616%, the yield on a 10-year US Treasury note is currently at its highest level since January 2025, amid speculation that the Federal Reserve will soon act to tighten monetary policy to fight rising inflationary pressures.

"Bear in mind that this key yield was below 4.0% in February this year and stood at 4.25% this time last month," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. "Investors weighed concerns over higher bond yields, as well as the outlook for AI demand and rising layoffs across tech. Of course, this could be simply some mild profit-taking given the outsized gains in chipmakers since the end of March."

Dow futures were down 0.2% with just under 90 minutes to go before the opening bell, while the S&P 500 was trading down 0.4% and the Nasdaq fell 0.7% as tech stocks continue to bear the brunt of recent selling pressure.

"We could see US tech stocks drift on Tuesday as we wait for Wednesday's earnings report from Nvidia. The chip giant's outlook for sales and its assessment of the uptake of enterprise AI will be vital for the next stage of the tech trade. For now, US stocks futures are lower," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

Nvidia itself was trading lower in pre-market activity, set to extend losses after a 5.7% plunge in the shares over the past two sessions.

Sector peers Intel, Broadcom, Micron Technology and AMD were also set to fall early on.

The economic data calendar for Tuesday was looking relatively light, with pending home sales for April the only major release of the day, due out at 1500 BST. The consensus estimate points to a 1% increase in sales for the month, following a 1.5% gain in March.