US stock futures tick higher as tech steadies though oil, yields stay high

By Shashwat Chauhan and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi

Sept 29 (Reuters) - ‌US stock index futures ​inched higher ​on Tuesday as some technology stocks found footing, though risk sentiment remained in check as the ongoing Middle East conflict kept oil prices high and bond yields steep.

Tech stocks were in focus as Anthropic's ‌IPO prospectus, as seen by Reuters, showed how the AI lab has grown sharply in ⁠the last year — while also posting wider losses.

Anthropic is targeting a valuation of more than $2 trillion in a public offering, possibly establishing it as a ‌benchmark for how Wall Street values AI's ‌leading companies.

Most chip-related companies rose in premarket trading after a sector-wide selloff on Monday. Marvell Technology, Micron Technology and Broadcom all rose around 1% each.

Nvidia inched 0.7% higher, building on Monday's gains when the world's most valuable company ​boosted its share buyback authorization by a record $150 billion.

The AI theme, which has powered most of the bull run that started in October 2022, remains crucial. Remarks from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during the company's DevDay event later ⁠in the day would be on investors' radar.

At 7:20 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 52 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 9 points, or ​0.11%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 72 points, or 0.24%.

The S&P 500 clocked its biggest one-day percentage fall since late August on Monday as tech stocks came under pressure amid ​geopolitical uncertainty.

"The markets are waiting for a breakthrough, or at least ‌clarity, regarding the war. That would support sentiment. But it's unlikely to arrive any time soon," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

Concerns over high energy prices fueling inflation ⁠and forcing central banks to raise interest rates have gripped global markets lately, dragging down equities and other risk assets.

Brent crude futures hovered near the $105 per barrel mark. US President Donald Trump rejected media reports that he was willing to ease sanctions and release frozen funds ⁠for "concrete" steps regarding Iran's nuclear program.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond hovered near its highest level since 2007, highlighting market expectations ​for tighter monetary policy in the future.

Economic data has garnered more scrutiny lately as the Federal Reserve has dialed back commentary on future policy moves under Chair Kevin Warsh. Traders currently see a 70% chance of another interest rate hike in October, according to the ‌CME FedWatch Tool.

A job openings reading for August is due later in the day, the first of many economic data points scheduled to be released this week.

At least six Fed officials, ‌including New York Fed President John Williams, are set to speak throughout the day on Tuesday.

Among other movers, Summit Therapeutics leaped 18.4%. ⁠The biopharma firm said British drugmaker AstraZeneca would ‌invest $2 billion in it and collaborate on ​a series of studies testing their cancer treatments together.

Snacks and soda giant PepsiCo dipped 0.8% after JP Morgan downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "overweight".

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Joyjeet Das)

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