U.S. Stock Index Futures Slightly Up as AI Hype Drives Global Stock Markets to Record Highs

BlockBeats News, October 2nd. U.S. stock index futures edged up slightly, with technology stocks driving global indices to new highs. The recent sale of OpenAI's equity propelled it to become the world's most valuable startup, boosting market optimism towards artificial intelligence.

Marija Veitmane, Senior Multi-Asset Strategist at State Street Global Markets, stated: "The technology sector is large and has shown strong performance. The market is willing to pay a premium for the technology sector because we have not yet discovered quality growth opportunities outside of the tech field." The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics may delay the release of Friday's nonfarm payroll data, as is also the case with the initial jobless claims data usually released on Thursdays.

However, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, U.S. employers reduced hiring plans in September, despite a decrease in the number of announced job cuts. The money market has largely priced in a 25-basis-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve at the end of this month to support the labor market, with an 80% probability of another rate cut in December. (Fx678)