US STOCKS-US stock futures rise after selloff; tariff, AI worries linger

By Shashwat Chauhan and Ragini Mathur

Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures recouped some losses on Tuesday after a painful selloff in the previous session as investors grappled with uncertainty over President Donald Trump's tariff policies and mounting concerns about artificial intelligence.

Leading the recovery was Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O, which jumped 14% in premarket trading after the chipmaker said it had agreed to sell up to $60 billion worth of AI chips to Meta Platforms META.O over five years.

Home Depot HD.N gained 2% after the home-improvement chain operator topped estimates for fourth-quarter results and maintained its annual forecasts.

All three main indexes fell more than 1% on Monday, with financials .SPSY and software stocks among the worst hit as the fallout from Friday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Trump's tariffs caused an investor exodus from high-risk equities.

Trump announced a temporary global tariff of 10% after Friday's ruling, which came into effect on Tuesday. He later said the levy would be 15%, but it was unclear when and if this would apply.

"While the direct impact of tariffs may prove temporary from a monetary perspective, the lack of clarity regarding their duration and scope keeps volatility elevated," said Antonio Di Giacomo, senior market analyst at brokerage XS.com.

Analysts also attributed Monday's slide to a bearish report from Citrini Research outlining potential threats to the global economy from the rise of AI.

At 07:16 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 121 points, or 0.25%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 gained 91.25 points, or 0.37%, and S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 rose 11.5 points, or 0.17%.

Most megacap and growth stocks inched higher after Monday's battering, with Microsoft MSFT.O and Meta Platforms rebounding slightly following sharp losses on Monday.

Keysight Technologies KEYS.N climbed 15.5% after the electronic equipment maker forecast second-quarter profit ahead of Wall Street estimates.

Hims & Hers Health HIMS.N slipped 6% after the online telehealth company forecast first-quarter revenue below estimates.

The week's big-ticket event, results from AI major Nvidia NVDA.O, is due after markets close on Wednesday. Nvidia shares were last down 0.6%.

Major software players Salesforce CRM.N and Intuit INTU.O are also scheduled to report later this week, with their results likely to draw heightened scrutiny as the sector grapples with mounting AI-disruption fears.

The S&P 500 software and services index .SPLRCIS, down almost 24% so far this year, saw no respite and fell 4.3% on Monday, becoming one of the day's worst-performing sectors.

February has been a dour month for U.S. shares as high stock valuations and AI disruption concerns pressure technology and other sectors, with investors questioning if massive AI spending was actually paying off.

Trump will deliver the traditional State of the Union address to Congress later on Tuesday. At least six Federal Reserve officials are also slated to speak through the day, as investors look for hints on the future policy path.

Traders currently expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady at its March meeting, with the next rate cut not anticipated until June, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.