US stock market today: Nasdaq, S&P 500 edge lower as Middle East tensions keep markets on edge

US stock futures indicated a muted-to-negative start to Tuesday’s session on 2 June, as investors continued to monitor developments in the Middle East, which had recently triggered a sharp rally in crude oil prices.

Futures linked to the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% after the benchmark recorded an eight-session winning streak, while weakness in technology stocks dragged Nasdaq futures lower by 0.1%.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures also traded marginally lower by 0.4%. In the previous session, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq had scaled fresh record highs, driven largely by gains in chip stocks.

"The S&P 500 is coming off its longest winning streak in more than a year, and after eight straight days of gains, some consolidation isn’t surprising. Futures slipped marginally, while technology stocks continued to attract investor attention. And once again, AI is driving the conversation," said brokerage firm Vested Finance.

Tensions in the Middle East resurfaced after hopes of a near-term resolution between the US and Iran faded following fresh exchanges of attacks over the weekend. In the aftermath, Iran reportedly said it would suspend the exchange of messages with the US in response to Israel’s intensifying military operations in Lebanon.

Despite the recent tensions, US President Donald Trump remained optimistic that the US could reach an interim peace agreement with Iran “over the next week.” Trump also said a memorandum of understanding to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached, although several issues remain unresolved.

As AI-driven optimism continues to support global equities, AI startup Anthropic said on Monday that it had confidentially filed for a US initial public offering (IPO), moving ahead of rival OpenAI in the closely watched race to enter public markets.

The back-and-forth movement in de-escalation hopes has capped the broader market rally. However, sustained buying in technology stocks has continued to lift Wall Street to multiple record highs in recent months.

Better-than-expected earnings from major software companies have also eased concerns that AI could disrupt traditional coding and software business models.

Meanwhile, a cooling in bond yields after recently touching multi-year highs has also supported market sentiment. However, expectations that the US Federal Reserve could keep interest rates elevated for longer in 2026 continue to remain high.

Crude prices retreat

Crude oil prices gave up nearly half of Monday’s gains after US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran were continuing at a “rapid pace,” easing fears that talks had completely broken down.

Brent crude futures fell $2.17 to the day’s low of $92.81 per barrel, while WTI crude futures slipped $2.04 to the day’s low of $90.12 per barrel.

In the previous session, both Brent and WTI crude had surged up to 5.5%, marking their biggest single-day gains in nearly a month.

US stocks in focus today

Among individual stocks, Marvell Technology soared 27% in US premarket trading after Jensen Huang of Nvidia Corporation said the chipmaker could become the “next trillion-dollar company.”

According to analysts at Vested Finance, the comments reignited enthusiasm across the semiconductor sector and reinforced investor confidence that the AI infrastructure boom still has a long growth runway ahead.

Shares of Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, fell more than 2% in premarket trading after the company said it plans to raise $80 billion through stock sales to fund its artificial intelligence expansion plans.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise surged nearly 29% in premarket trading after the AI server maker pulled forward its long-term financial targets by two years. Rival companies Dell Technologies and Super Micro Computer also gained 3.3% and 5.1%, respectively.

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