US stock index futures moved higher on Sunday night following a down week marked by tech sell-offs and corporate spending concerns, setting up a critical stretch that includes the midterm elections, major tech earnings and the October jobs report. The US markets week ahead is one of the busiest of the year, and investors entered it cautiously optimistic.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent to 0.3 per cent, while Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 0.2 per cent to 0.4 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.2 per cent, adding about 116 points, according to reports of Sunday night trading. A second report put the moves slightly higher as of 1:38 am EDT on Monday, with Nasdaq-100 futures up 0.84 per cent, S&P 500 futures up 0.43 per cent and Dow futures up 0.29 per cent.
The gains followed a bruising week. The Nasdaq fell 2 per cent for the week and 2.86 per cent on Friday alone, its largest one-day drop since June, while the S&P 500 fell 1.82 per cent on Friday and the Dow lost 1.09 per cent, according to reports. All three indexes recorded a third consecutive weekly loss, their longest such streak since March. For October as a whole, the Nasdaq logged its worst monthly decline since March 2025 as concerns over artificial intelligence capital expenditures pressured major tech shares, according to reports.
Apple, jobs and the election in one week
Apple is scheduled to report quarterly results on Monday after the close. The company finished Friday with a market capitalisation of about $5.03 trillion, compared with Nvidia’s approximately $4.93 trillion, and is up roughly 27 per cent year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500’s 11 per cent rise, according to reports. Palantir, AMD, Qualcomm, McDonald’s, Uber and other major companies also report this week.
The October nonfarm payrolls report is due on Friday 6 November, with economists polled by Dow Jones projecting a gain of 55,000 jobs, according to reports. September payrolls increased by 29,000, and the three-month average was about 50,000, according to reports. Between earnings, jobs data and Tuesday’s election, traders face a week in which each day brings a potential market-moving event.
Oil falls on diplomacy hopes
Oil prices fell on Monday as the US and Iran showed interest in resolving their conflict through diplomatic talks, according to reports. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Trump prefers a diplomatic solution and wants to avoid further military action, though concerns remain that both sides are preparing for possible military action after the midterms. Bitcoin traded at $78,383 at 8:18 pm ET on Sunday, according to reports. For investors, the week ahead is less about any single data point than about the sequence: election, earnings, jobs — in that order, with little room to recover between them.
