US STOCKS-Wall St futures slip as AI uncertainty persists; jobs, inflation data on tap

By Twesha Dikshit and Nikhil Sharma

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Wall Street futures fell on Monday following a week marred by AI disruption concerns tanking technology stocks, as investors awaited crucial economic data and hints from the U.S. Federal Reserve on its interest-rate plans.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq had rebounded on Friday after three consecutive days of losses, with the AI trade coming under renewed scrutiny after Big Tech companies unveiled heavy capital expenditure projections.

A handful of recent Big Tech results revived investor worries about ambitious spending this year, with marquee "Magnificent Seven" Amazon AMZN.O, Google GOOGL.O, Meta META.Oand Microsoft MSFT.O collectively expected to spend around $650 billion in the race to win AI dominance.

Software names, pressured the previous week by concerns that AI could intensify competition and squeeze margins, were largely stable in Monday's premarket trading.

"After a hectic week last week, basically the size of the rebound that we saw (on Friday) didn't feel like the beginning of a sustainable reversal in losses. So I'm not surprised to see this morning that now that futures are down," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank.

At 06:23 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were down 63 points, or 0.13%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 lost 19.25 points, or 0.28%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 fell 121.25 points, or 0.48%.

The Dow had a spectacular run on Friday, when it closed above 50,000 points for the first time and posted weekly gains, helped by a rotation into other pockets of the market. The small-cap Russell 2000 .RUT also benefited.

The next big test for AI shares will be chip giant Nvidia's NVDA.O earnings later this month, as investors demand measurable gains from capex spending. Nvidia was down 1% in trading before the bell.

Other chip stocks also fell; Micron Technology MU.O was down 3.5%, Broadcom AVGO.O shed 1.5%, while AMD AMD.O lost 1.1%.

This week, the focus will be on economic data, including the key January nonfarm payrolls report on Wednesday - delayed by a partial government shutdown - and the closely watched January consumer price index on Friday, both essential for clues on the central bank's rate decisions.

Markets are currently pricing in the year's first rate cut in June, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool, which could be when Kevin Warsh, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for Fed chair, takes over.

Eli Lilly's LLY.N shares rose 1.6% after telehealth firm Hims & Hers HIMS.N canceled the launch of a $49 weight-loss pill over the weekend following legal threats from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO. Hims & Hers' shares dropped 15.3%.

Of the 293 companies in the S&P 500 that have already reported earnings for the quarter, around 77% have beaten analysts' expectations, according to LSEG data. The long-term average for a beat is 67%.

Apollo Global Management APO.N rose 1.5% after the asset manager reported a 13% rise in fourth-quarter profit.

Markets will also watch for Fed members later in the day, with Christopher Waller, Stephen Miran and Atlanta President Raphael Bostic on schedule to speak.

Kroger's KR.N shares added 5.2% after the Wall Street Journal reported the grocery giant plans to name former Walmart executive Greg Foran its chief executive officer.