Investing.com– U.S. stock index futures steadied in evening deals on Tuesday after losses in technology stocks- triggered by weak earnings from chipmaking bellwether ASML- dragged Wall Street off record highs.
Focus remained on more corporate results, with the third-quarter earnings season set to continue this week.
steadied at 5,863.75 points, while rose slightly to 20,355.75 points by 19:09 ET (23:09 GMT). were flat at 43,009.0 points.
Chipmakers sink on weak ASML outlook
The tech sector was battered by losses in major chipmakers, after semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker ASML (AS:) Holding (NASDAQ:) cut its annual forecast on weak demand for chips not related to artificial intelligence.
The stock slid 16.3% on Tuesday, although it regained some ground in aftermarket trade. ASML’s September quarter earnings still beat estimates.
Chipmakers were also rattled by a report suggesting the U.S. government was considering limiting sales of AI-related chips to certain countries- a scenario that heralds weaker sales.
Market darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:) slid 4.5%, while rivals AMD (NASDAQ:) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:) lost 5.2% and 3.3%, respectively. All three stocks steadied in aftermarket trade.
Focus in the tech and chipmaking sectors will be squarely on third-quarter earnings from Taiwan’s TSMC (NYSE:)- the world’s biggest contract chipmaker- which are due on Thursday. The company is also considered as a bellwether for the chipmaking industry.
Losses in chipmakers battered Wall St on Tuesday, with the falling 0.8% to 5,815.26 points from a record high. The fell nearly 1% to 18,322.05 points, while the fell 0.8% to 42,740.42 points, also falling from a record high.
Q3 earnings to continue this week
A weak print from ASML largely overshadowed positive earnings from major banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:). Morgan Stanley (NYSE:) is now set to round out bank earnings on Wednesday.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:) are also set to report on Wednesday, while Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:) will report on Thursday.
The earnings season is set to peak next week with prints from a string of major technology firms, including Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:).
Beyond earnings, investor focus is also on addresses from a string of Federal Reserve officials, amid growing bets that interest rates will fall at a slower-than-expected pace.
