Stock market today: Nasdaq, S&P 500 futures plunge as global chip sell-off spurs AI doubts

Nasdaq futures plunged on Tuesday as a rout in memory chipmakers spurred doubts about the AI trade, piling pressure on stocks more broadly even as US-Iran talks showed progress. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) dived 2.8%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) sank 1.4%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F), which include fewer tech names, slid 0.5%. The Nasdaq is set for another hammering, after Monday saw Big Tech players take a hit as SpaceX (SPCX) notched its third day of losses in a row. Shares in Elon Musk’s space company were down another 5% before the bell, on track to push below $2 trillion in market value. Piling on the pressure, a sell-off in memory chip giants SK Hynix (000660.KS) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS, SSNLF) in South Korea underscored growing questions about overstretched AI valuations. Both saw their shares sink over 12%, to drag the benchmark Kospi stock index to a 10% loss. The rout turns up the focus on Micron (MU) earnings due for release on Wednesday, watched for a read on how strong the demand for memory remains. Shares in the chipmaker dropped 10% in premarket, after surging to a record close on Monday. Meanwhile, ongoing peace and nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran showed signs of progress, as the US issued a 60-day waiver on oil sanctions on its adversary. On Tuesday, FedEx (FDX) and Cerebras Systems (CBRS) will report earnings. Cerebras System's results will be the AI chip company's first since going public in May.