U.S. equity futures climbed Monday evening after major indexes opened February with gains, as investors digested a slate of corporate earnings and mixed macro signals. S&P 500 futures rose about 0.3% while Nasdaq 100 futures gained nearly 0.6%; Dow-linked futures added roughly 31 points (under 0.1%). In regular trading the Dow surged roughly 515 points (1.05%), the S&P 500 advanced 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite rose about 0.6%, led by select AI-related hardware names and a handful of notable corporate beats.
Key Takeaways
- S&P 500 futures were up ~0.3% in after-hours trade Monday following a positive session that began February trading.
- Dow Jones rose roughly 515 points (1.05%) in the regular session; S&P 500 gained 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite about 0.6%.
- Palantir jumped ~6% in extended trading after reporting adjusted EPS of $0.25 vs. $0.23 expected and revenue of $1.41 billion vs. $1.33 billion est.
- Robotics firm Teradyne surged ~20% after guiding Q1 revenue to $1.15–$1.25 billion versus Street consensus near $935 million.
- Nvidia fell nearly 3% after The Wall Street Journal reported its planned investment in OpenAI has stalled; that development remains unconfirmed by the companies.
- Bitcoin slipped to its lowest level since April, signaling reduced risk appetite; precious metals futures and related ETFs also showed heavy moves after a recent sharp sell-off.
- Investors are watching more than 100 S&P 500 companies reporting this week, including AMD and Pfizer on Tuesday and Amazon and Alphabet later in the week.
Background
Equity markets entered February coming off a month of strong returns for benchmark indexes, supported by a resilient U.S. economy and the expectation that the Federal Reserve is either finished tightening or may cut rates later in the year. Technology and AI-related names have been significant drivers of market breadth, creating concentrated gains among large-cap growth stocks while smaller sectors lagged at times.
At the same time, the market has absorbed episodic volatility from commodity swings and cryptocurrency moves: a historic sell-off in gold and silver late last week prompted abrupt repositioning among retail and institutional traders. Corporate earnings season has returned center stage, with investors parsing quarterly results and forward guidance for signs that revenue growth and margins can sustain recent valuations.
Main Event
The regular session on Monday saw broad-based gains: the Dow rose roughly 515 points (about 1.05%), the S&P 500 advanced 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed nearly 0.6%. AI infrastructure and data-storage names — including Sandisk, Western Digital and Seagate — finished the day higher, reflecting continued investor interest in data-center spending and AI workloads.
After the close, Palantir reported adjusted EPS of $0.25, beating the LSEG consensus of $0.23, and revenue of $1.41 billion versus $1.33 billion expected; its shares jumped roughly 6% in extended trading. Teradyne reported Q4 results above estimates and offered a bullish Q1 revenue guide of $1.15–$1.25 billion, which led to a roughly 20% rally in its stock as the guidance topped the Street’s ~$935 million expectation.
Nvidia bucked the session’s winners, falling nearly 3% after a Wall Street Journal report said the chipmaker’s planned investment in OpenAI has stalled. Market participants noted that any change to Nvidia’s strategic investments or partnerships could affect sentiment for AI-capex beneficiaries, though neither Nvidia nor OpenAI issued an immediate confirmation linked to that report.
Macro- and alternative-asset moves also influenced flow: bitcoin dipped to its lowest level since April, and precious metals — which had experienced a sharp sell-off late last week — showed continued volatility in futures and ETF trading. Traders described flows into both risk-on and risk-off instruments as part of a recalibration around earnings, growth expectations and central bank guidance.
Analysis & Implications
Near-term market direction remains heavily correlated with tech earnings and AI adoption signals. Investors are parsing quarterly reports not just for current profits but for commentary on AI-driven efficiency and capital spending. The market’s response to Microsoft’s recent report underscored how quickly sentiment can shift when large-cap tech misses on forward guidance or growth cues.
Monetary policy expectations are another major tailwind or headwind. Strategists continue to price in a lower-for-longer Fed rate outlook compared with 2023–2024 hawkishness, which supports elevated equity valuations. That said, even small shifts in rate forecasts can prompt outsized moves in long-duration growth stocks, increasing the potential for episodic volatility, especially around key Fed speakers and inflation data.
For individual sectors, AI infrastructure names could remain volatile but retain a structural upside if corporate adoption accelerates. Conversely, cyclical and commodity-linked stocks may track macro swings in growth expectations and geopolitical risk, which have recently driven sharp moves in gold, silver and mining equities.
Comparison & Data
| Index / Stock | Regular Session Move | After-hours / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | +515 pts (~1.05%) | Futures +31 pts (under 0.1%) |
| S&P 500 | +0.5% | Futures +0.3% |
| Nasdaq Composite | +0.6% | Nasdaq 100 futures +0.6% |
| Palantir Technologies | — | After-hours +~6%; Q4 adj. EPS $0.25 vs $0.23; revenue $1.41B vs $1.33B |
| Teradyne | — | After-hours +~20%; Q1 rev guide $1.15–$1.25B vs est ~$935M |
The table above highlights index moves in the regular session and notable after-hours movers; it underscores the degree to which individual corporate results can amplify broader index performance during earnings season.
Reactions & Quotes
Market strategists framed the rally as a continuation of themes that supported risk assets late last year: stable Fed expectations, a resilient economy and corporate profit momentum, with AI as a key structural driver.
“The themes that have been driving risk assets higher — the Fed not tightening, a strong economy and a favorable profit backdrop — are still in place, and the AI story continues to drive markets,” said Dan Greenhaus, a strategist at Solus Alternative Asset Management.
Dan Greenhaus / Solus Alternative Asset Management (as quoted on CNBC)
Corporate leaders also highlighted scaling and commercialization narratives in recent company statements, reinforcing investor focus on long-term structural growth even as short-term volatility persists.
“This milestone is built on a foundation of safety that is now statistically superior to human driving… We are no longer proving a concept; we are scaling a commercial reality,” wrote Waymo co-CEOs Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov in a company blog post about a funding round.
Tekedra Mawakana & Dmitri Dolgov / Waymo (company blog)
Unconfirmed
- The Wall Street Journal report that Nvidia’s planned investment in OpenAI has stalled is based on unnamed sources and has not been officially confirmed by Nvidia or OpenAI.
- Market reports about exact motives behind certain large ETF flows after the precious metals sell-off remain unverified and may reflect short-term positioning rather than a durable demand shift.
Bottom Line
Monday’s session and overnight futures showed a market still willing to reward strong corporate results and AI-related growth narratives, while remaining sensitive to headline risk and earnings guidance. Palantir and Teradyne illustrated how upside beats and bullish guidance can power outsized after-hours moves, feeding through to futures and the next trading day’s sentiment.
Traders should expect increased volatility this week as more than 100 S&P 500 companies report results, including major tech names such as Amazon and Alphabet later in the week. For investors, the key signals to monitor are forward guidance on AI-driven spending, margin trajectories, and any shifts in Fed rate expectations that would alter the discounting applied to long-duration growth earnings.