Nasdaq, S&P 500 futures tread higher in lead up to Fed meeting, AI conference By Reuters

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and 4 yuan investment futures ap pShashwat Chauhan

(Reuters) - Futures for the and the Nasdaq gained on Monday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting this week, where the central bank is expected to keep borrowing costs steady and provide cues on its monetary policy path for the year.

Stronger-than-expected inflation figures last week have prompted investors to rethink when and by how much policymakers will lower rates this year, with traders pulling back bets of a June rate cut to around 59% from 71% last Monday, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Nevertheless, Wall Street, led by optimism around artificial intelligence (AI), hit fresh all-time highs in March, before pulling back some gains last week.

A hawkish tilt by the Fed in its policy meeting that concludes on Wednesday could further pressure the high-flying indexes.

"While the recent pullback in tech stocks may follow fears that the market has run too far and portfolios are too concentrated, we believe investors can find compelling diversification opportunities through the next AI leaders," said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Investors eyed chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:)'s GTC developer conference from March 18 to 21, which will be parsed for AI-related announcements. Shares of the AI giant rose 2.3% in premarket trading.

Peers Micron Technology (NASDAQ:) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:) added 2.8% and 1.3%, respectively.

Exchange operator Nasdaq said it has resolved an issue related to connectivity and stock orders after more than two hours.

At 7:00 a.m. ET, were down 30 points, or 0.08%, were up 19.5 points, or 0.38%, and were up 136.5 points, or 0.76%.

Most megacap growth and technology shares also advanced in trading before the bell.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:) gained 4.4% after a media report that Apple (NASDAQ:) is in talks to build Google's Gemini AI engine into the iPhone.

Tesla (NASDAQ:) rose 2.8% after the electric carmaker said it would increase the price of its Model Y EVs in some European countries on March 22, by approximately 2,000 euros ($2,177) or its equivalent in local currencies.

U.S.-listed shares of Xpeng (NYSE:) climbed 6.2% on the company's plans to launch a cheaper EV brand amid fierce price competition.

Boeing (NYSE:) shed 1.0% after a media report that a federal grand jury in Seattle issued a subpoena to the planemaker over the Jan. 5 midair blowout of a Boeing door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight.

Statement: The content of this article does not represent the views of FTI website. The content is for reference only and does not constitute investment suggestions. Investment is risky, so you should be careful in your choice! If it involves content, copyright and other issues, please contact us and we will make adjustments at the first time!