AI selling and $91.91 oil leave Wall Street balancing growth against inflation
U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday as AI-related shares extended their selloff and Brent crude rose 1% to $91.91 a barrel. Higher oil prices are lifting inflation pressure and keeping Treasury yields elevated while markets wait for the Federal Reserve's latest minutes.
S&P 500 futures were flat, Dow Jones futures added 0.1% and Nasdaq futures slipped 0.1% before the open. Oracle fell more than 1%, while Marvell Technology and Intel dropped nearly 2%; Micron Technology was also among the session's biggest drags after the previous day's trading.
The move in oil is the other market signal. U.S. crude gained 1.1% to $84.99, while Brent rose to $91.91. The conflict around the Strait of Hormuz remains unresolved, and the higher energy price is feeding directly into the inflation concern that has pushed bond yields higher since the war began.
The 10-year Treasury yield edged down to 4.70% from 4.72%, but stayed well above the 3.97% level seen before the war. The 30-year yield remained near its highest point since 2007. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 3.2% as technology selling and rising yields weighed on the benchmark; Germany's DAX lost 0.1%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.3% and the FTSE 100 slipped 0.2%.
Markets also absorbed President Donald Trump's decision to delay tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian imports. The Federal Reserve was due to publish minutes from its latest rate-setting meeting later Wednesday, giving investors another read on how officials see the interaction between oil, inflation and borrowing costs.