02.02.202613:01:09UTC+00US Futures Hold Lower

U.S. equity futures continued to trend downward as markets exited speculative positions across various asset classes established last week, particularly in precious metals. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were set to open with declines of up to 0.5%, while the Dow remained more stable due to its defensive composition. Miners experienced significant losses as gold persisted in its drop from the record highs reached last week, with silver shedding nearly 30% of its value over two trading sessions. This decline exerted pressure on companies like Newmont and Barrick Gold in pre-market trading. Among tech stocks, AI powerhouses saw losses, with Nvidia's $100 billion investment in OpenAI reportedly facing delays. Oracle faced a sharp decline after announcing its intention to raise over $50 billion via debt and equity to enhance cloud infrastructure capabilities. Palantir remained steady pending its post-market earnings report. Meanwhile, banks saw little change despite a steeper yield curve, largely unchanged following President Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh, known for his opposition to an extensive Federal Reserve balance sheet, as Fed Chairman.