U.S. equity futures were mixed in early Tuesday trading, while gold prices powered to a fresh all-time high, as investors navigate a host of geopolitical risks while looking to a key speech from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang later in the session.Â
Stocks ended firmly higher last night, extending Wall Street’s winning streak to a second consecutive session, as investors looked for bargains in beaten-down markets following last week’s slump into correction territory for the S&P 500.Â
That trade may be disrupted today, however, following Bank of America’s closely-tracked survey of global fund managers for the month of March, which showed investors dumping U.S. stocks at the fastest pace on record.
Markets are already showing a defensive tenor in the overnight session, with gold prices rising past $3,020 per ounce, taking the bullion’s year-to-date advance to around 15%, following a series of strikes on targets in Gaza by the Israeli Defense Force that looks to have obliterated the tenuous ceasefire agreement.Â
Investors are also eyeing any details from a phone call later today between President Donald Trump and Russia President Vladimir Putin, aimed at establishing a ceasefire in that country’s war against Ukraine.
On Wall Street, the session’s focus is likely to fall on housing market data arriving at 8:30 am Eastern time, in the form of housing starts and building permits for the month of February, following data yesterday showing homebuilder sentiment fell to the lowest in seven month.
Nvidia (NVDA)  CEO Jensen Huang is also set to delivery the keynote address to the tech giant’s GTC event later today in San Jose, where he will he will likely speak to AI demand concerns as well as unveiling the newest iteration of the Blackwell lineup, Blackwell Ultra.
Related: Wall Street analyst overhauls S&P 500 price target as markets gyrate
Heading into the start of the trading day, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 were little changed from last night’s closing levels, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average called 33 points higher.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is priced for a modest opening bell decline of around 20 points.
More Wall Street Analysts:
- Analyst resets Tesla stock price target tied to ‘shocking’ catalyst
- Analyst revamps Palantir stock price target after slump
- Analysts turn heads with Nvidia stock price target move
In overseas markets, Europe’s Stoxx 600 was firmly higher in mid-day Frankfurt trading ahead of a key vote in Germany’s Bundestag that could unlock hundreds of billions in stimulus spending under the expansionist policies of new Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Britain’s FTSE 100, meanwhile, rose 0.46% in London as higher oil and commodity prices lifted the benchmark ahead of a Bank of England rate decision later in the week.
Overnight in Asia, stocks in Hong Kong hit a three-week high, lifting the regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark 1.27% into the close of trading, while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 1.2%.
Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast
