US pre-open: Futures lower following President's Day break
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Tuesday 17 Feb 2026
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were trading lower ahead of the bell on Tuesday as traders get set to return from the President's Day break.
As of 1230 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.12%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.28% and 0.72% softer, respectively.
The Dow closed 48.95 points higher on Friday ahead of the long weekend, but US stocks still ended the week in the red as worries over the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence weighed on sectors including real estate, trucking and financial services.
Those concerns overshadowed Friday's latest consumer price index report, which showed headline inflation coming in softer than economists had expected in January, as both the Dow and the S&P 500 notched their fourth weekly decline in five, while the Nasdaq suffered a fifth straight negative week - its longest losing streak since 2022.
Tuesday's pre‑market moves reflected a continuation of last week's caution, with tech once again under pressure as investors reassessed valuations in AI‑exposed names. Chipmakers and cloud‑focused stocks were among the early laggards, while defensive sectors such as healthcare and utilities saw modest interest.
Trade Nation's David Morrison said: "Overall, there has been a decline in upside momentum across the US majors since the beginning of this month. Many big tech and certain AI-related stocks have taken a hit as investors continue to question the likely return on investment. The spending commitments are so large that many cash-rich corporations have halted share buybacks. Some have issued more stock, and others have turned to debt markets to raise funds for AI investment. Meanwhile, software companies have come under scrutiny as investors question their business models given growing competition from AI.
"The S&P 500 remains stuck under 7,000. While there has been no significant break of support so far, investors appear wary of adding to their exposure at current levels. They seem to be sitting on their hands and waiting for a catalyst which will either provide a reason to sell or be the trigger to reload and thereby restart the bull market."
On Tuesday's macro slate, February's New York Empire State manufacturing index will be published at 1330 GMT, while the National Association of Home Builders' February housing market index will follow at 1500 GMT.
In the corporate space, Warner Bros Discovery said on Tuesday that it will enter discussions with Paramount Skydance after receiving a seven‑day waiver from Netflix, allowing it to examine what it described as shortcomings in Paramount's proposal to acquire the whole group. WBD currently has a pending deal with Netflix covering its streaming and studio operations, but Paramount later launched a hostile $30‑a‑share tender offer directly to WBD investors after losing out to Netflix in an earlier bidding process.
Still to come, Palo Alto will report its latest quarterly figures after the close.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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