The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to move to the downside after ending yesterday's choppy session narrowly mixed.
Technology stocks are likely to lead the way lower, as reflected by the 1.3 percent slump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures.
Companies tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure are likely to come under pressure after a report from the Wall Street Journal said OpenAI recently missed its own targets for new users and revenue.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ said the stumbles have raised concern among some company leaders about whether OpenAI will be able to support its massive spending on data centers.
Oracle (ORCL), which has a massive, multi-year partnership with OpenAI to build AI infrastructure, is plunging by 6.5 percent in pre-market trading.
Chipmakers Nvidia (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Qualcomm (QCOM) are also seeing notable pre-market weakness.
Concerns about the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran may also weigh on Wall Street, as the Trump administration seemed unlikely to accept Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, while setting aside discussions on Iran's nuclear program.
Following the strength seen during last Friday's session, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Monday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.
While the Nasdaq rose 50.50 points or 0.2 percent to 24,887.10 and the S&P 500 inched up 8.83 points or 0.1 percent to 7,173.91, reaching new record closing highs, the Dow edged down 62.92 points or 0.1 percent to 49,167.79.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves amid a lack of clarity about the situation in the Middle East after U.S.-Iran peace talks stalled over the weekend.
As talks between the U.S. and Iran enter a new phase of uncertainty, media reports suggested that Iran has proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war while postponing nuclear negotiations to a later stage.
Earnings news may move into the spotlight in the coming days, with five of the "Magnificent Seven" companies set to report their quarterly results this week.
Traders are also likely to keep an eye on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision scheduled to be announced on Wednesday.
While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the central bank's accompanying statement may provide clues about the outlook for rates.
Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day.
Airline stocks showed a significant move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index slumping by 2.1 percent.
Considerable weakness was also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Telecom, networking and pharmaceutical stocks also saw notable weakness, while banking stocks showed a strong move to the upside.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are soaring $3.71 to $100.08 a barrel after jumping $1.97 to $96.37 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after slumping $47.20 to $4,693.70 ounce in the previous session, gold futures are tumbling $98.20 to $4,595.50 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.52 yen compared to the 159.42 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1696 compared to yesterday's $1.1720.
Asia
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Tuesday as U.S.-Iran talks remained at a standstill and investors braced for earnings news from several of the "Magnificent Seven" companies this week.
Brent crude prices remained elevated above $111 a barrel in Asian trading after reports suggested U.S. President Donald Trump is not satisfied with the Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the two-month war in exchange for delaying nuclear talks.
The dollar index regained momentum from a one-week low, while gold prices fell more than 1 percent to $4,626 an ounce ahead of a string of rate decisions by major central banks, including from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
China's Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.2 percent to 4,078.64 as Beijing ordered Meta to unwind its $2billion acquisition of AI startup Manus amid an intensifying geopolitical rivalry with the U.S. over artificial -intelligence technology.
CATL shares fell 1.7 percent after the battery maker announced plans to raise $5billion in a share placement.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 1 percent to 25,679.78, dragged down by major technology stocks.
Japanese markets retreated from recent record highs as the Bank of Japan kept its policy rate steady in a split 6-3 vote and upgraded its inflation forecasts, signaling a gradual normalization path.
The Nikkei 225 Index slid 1 percent to 59,917.46, while the broader Topix Index closed up 1 percent at 3,772.19.
Tech stocks lost ground, with SoftBank Group plunging 9.9 percent, Advantest tumbling 5.6 percent and Tokyo Electron declining 4.1 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI has fallen short of its own targets for new users and revenue in recent months.
Seoul stocks extended gains for the 11th consecutive session to clinch another record high in anticipation of solid earnings from major U.S. tech companies this week.
The Kospi briefly topped 6,700 before paring gains to end 0.4 percent higher at 6,641.02. Automakers led the charge, with Hyundai Motor surging 5.9 percent and its affiliate Kia gaining 2 percent.
Samsung SDI shares soared 7.1 percent after the battery maker posted a smaller-than-expected loss in the first quarter this year.
Australian markets fell notably as investors braced for CPI data on Wednesday and next week's RBA meeting.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.6 percent to 8,710.70, extending losses for a sixth straight session, dragged down by mining, technology and healthcare stocks. The broader All Ordinaries Index settled 0.6 percent lower at 8,935.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index fell 0.9 percent to 12,764.40.
Europe
European stocks have moved to the downside in cautious trade on Tuesday as investors brace for big tech earnings and the upcoming Federal Reserve decision.
On the geopolitical front, the Trump administration seemed unlikely to accept Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, while setting aside discussion on Iran's nuclear program.
The United States is no longer able to "dictate" its policy to independent nations and Washinton should "accept that it must abandon its illegal and irrational demands," according to Iran's defense ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik.
The German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent.
British banking giant Barclays has tumbled after announcing it is setting aside more than £800 million for bad debts related to the collapse of a mortgage lender.
Sweden's Securitas has also shown a significant move to the downside after its first quarter earnings missed estimates due to currency headwinds.
Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis has also slumped after missing quarterly sales and profit estimates.
French industrial gases group Air Liquide has also moved notably lower after posting lower-than-expected first quarter revenue.
Taylor Wimpey has also plummeted. The U.K. homebuilder flagged underlying price pressure and raised its build-cost inflation expectations for 2026, citing rising energy costs.
On the other hand, budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle has soared almost after narrowing its first quarter net loss.
BP Plc and peer Shell have also risen as crude oil futures hit three-week highs, with Brent prices consolidating above $110 a barrel amid stalled efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war.
U.S. Economic News
Standard & Poor's is due to release its report on home prices in major metropolitan areas in the month of February at 9 am ET.
At 10 am ET, the Conference Board is scheduled to release its report on consumer confidence in the month of April. The consumer confidence index is expected to drop to 89.4 in Apri from 91.8 in March.
The Treasury Department is due to announce the results of this month's auction of $44 billion worth of seven-year notes at 1 pm ET.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.