U.S. stock futures rose on Tuesday after closing lower on Monday. Futures of all the major benchmark indices were positive following a sell-off.
A viral “Global Intelligence Crisis” report, on Monday, sparked fears of a deflationary depression, suggesting that a successful AI revolution could ironically collapse the consumer economy through mass white-collar unemployment and “Ghost GDP.”
Market sentiment was further dampened by renewed geopolitical concerns, specifically President Donald Trump‘s proposal to increase global tariffs to 15% and the growing friction between the United States and Iran. Trump also threatened global trading partners on Monday, vowing to retaliate with “much higher” tariffs against any nation that attempts to use the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling to dismantle existing trade agreements.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.03%, and the two-year bond was at 3.45%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 95.9% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.16% |
| S&P 500 | 0.22% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.29% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.21% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were higher in premarket on Tuesday. The SPY was up 0.26% at $684.14, while the QQQ advanced 0.36% to $603.57.
Stocks In Focus
Whirlpool
- Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE:WHR) plunged 7.46% in premarket on Tuesday after it launched concurrent, separate underwritten public offerings of shares of common stock and depositary shares, with total expected proceeds of $800 million.
- WHR maintains a weak price trend over the long, short, and medium terms, with a moderate quality ranking, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.
Keysight Technologies
- Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) soared 16.04% after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter financial results and issuing strong second-quarter guidance.
- KEYS maintains a strong price trend over the short, medium, and long terms with a poor value ranking, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.
Vir Biotechnology
- Vir Biotechnology Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) surged 63.39% after delivering a significant quarterly revenue of $64.07 million that surpassed the estimates and narrowed its losses to $0.31 per share.
- VIR maintains a strong price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.
HP
- HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) was 0.054% lower as analysts expected it to post earnings of 77 cents per share on revenue of $13.94 billion, after the market’s close.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that HPQ maintains a weak price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate value score.
Uber Technologies
- Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) rose 0.47% after it announced plans to acquire parking app SpotHero.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that UBER maintains a weaker price trend over the long, medium, and short terms, with a solid growth ranking.
Cues From Last Session
On Monday, defensive sectors like Consumer Staples, Health Care, and Utilities led the gains, along with modest growth in Energy, Real Estate, and Materials. Conversely, the market saw significant declines in Financials, Consumer Discretionary, and Industrials, which weighed heavily on the overall performance.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | -1.66% | 48,804.06 |
| S&P 500 | -1.04% | 6,837.75 |
| Nasdaq Composite | -1.13% | 22,627.27 |
| Russell 2000 | -1.61% | 2,620.99 |
Insights From Analysts
George Smith and the LPL Research team anticipate a period where “starting points matter” and valuations serve as a primary guide for long-term performance.
According to the 2026 Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA), there is an expectation that current stock valuations are fair but offer “limited compensation” through the equity risk premium.
Because high price-to-earnings ratios historically precede “weaker long-term performance,” the outlook emphasizes “patience over prediction” rather than aggressive growth.
Economically, the strategy prepares for a range of outcomes by recognizing “less stable stock-bond correlations” and structural forces influencing inflation.
Rather than chasing short-term narratives, Smith’s framework is “intentionally insulated” from daily headlines, focusing instead on “valuations, cash flow durability, and cross-asset relationships” over a three-to-five-year horizon.
To manage this environment, the SAA maintains a modest underweight to total equity risk, favoring “high-quality core taxable bonds” and diversifiers like real assets to ensure portfolios remain resilient. Ultimately, the goal is to achieve “steady compounding” by balancing risk across shifting macro conditions.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Tuesday.
- December’s S&P Case-Shiller home price index (20 cities) will be released by 9:00 a.m., followed by December’s wholesale inventories and February’s consumer confidence data at 10:00 a.m. ET.
- A busy morning of Fed speakers includes Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee at 8:00 a.m., Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic at 9:00 a.m., Fed Governor Christopher Waller at 9:15 a.m., and Fed Governor Lisa Cook at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Gold, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.36% to hover around $66.55 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar fell 1.09% to hover around $5,171.00 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.11% higher at the 97.8170 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 4.73% lower at $63,221.56 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.
Asian markets closed mixed on Monday as South Korea’s Kospi, China’s CSI 300, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices rose. On the other hand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, India’s Nifty 50, and Australia’s ASX 200 indices fell. European markets were lower in early trade.
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