Dow Jones Today: Futures Lower as Chip Stocks Slip; Major Indexes Poised to Post Monthly Gains

Futures are pointing to a lower open for major indexes Monday as AI investor favorite Nvidia (NVDA) and other chipmakers lose ground in premarket trading.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were down 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, while Nasdaq 100 futures were off 0.4%. The major indexes are coming off a mixed performance on Friday, when the Dow closed at a record high while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped as shares of chipmakers retreated after big gains the previous session.

Nvidia shares were down nearly 3% ahead of the bell Monday, while Broadcom (AVGO), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Qualcomm (QCOM), Intel (INTC) and other chip stocks retreated. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) was down about 2% in premarket trading.

Mega-cap technology stocks were mostly lower, with Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META) and Amazon (AMZN) all down slightly while Apple (AAPL) inched higher.

Despite the likely soft start to trading Monday, major U.S. indexes are poised to finish the month and the quarter with gains. U.S. stocks have recovered from an early-September swoon as investors have grown more confident that the economy is headed for a soft landing and the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates.

The economic data calendar is light on Monday, but market participants will be keeping a close eye on comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who is scheduled to speak this afternoon at a conference of business economists. The Fed cut its benchmark rate for the first time in four years earlier this month, and investors are looking for insights on the pace and depth of future easing by the central bank.

Gold futures were down slightly early Monday at around $2,660 per ounce, after hitting record highs above $2,700 late last week. Crude oil futures were also down slightly, while bitcoin was trading just below $64,000.