Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of FOMC Minutes: Why META, BA, MU, EKSO Are On Traders' Radar Today

Markets are likely to remain rangebound into the year-end.

• Retail sentiment toward the SPY changed to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ on Stocktwits.
• Traders will be watching for the release of the FOMC minutes this afternoon for clues on the 2026 interest rate trajectory.
• Meta has acquired an AI-focused startup amid intensifying competition with OpenAI.

U.S. stock futures were trading mildly lower early Tuesday, following a broad-based pullback in the previous session. Light trading volumes in a holiday-shortened week, rising valuations in megacap technology, and limited economic data on the calendar are keeping investor sentiment muted.

Traders will be watching for the release of the FOMC minutes this afternoon for clues on the 2026 interest rate trajectory.

As of 3:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Nasdaq 100 futures, S&P 500 futures, and the Dow futures were down 0.1%, while Russell 2000 futures were flat.

On Stocktwits, however, retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, was down to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ on Monday. While sentiment toward the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, has remained ‘bullish’, amid low message volumes.

Markets are likely to remain rangebound in the penultimate trading session for 2025. Note that equity markets will be closed on Thursday for New Year’s Day.

Trending Stocks To Watch

Meta Platforms (META) has acquired Manus, an AI agent startup, marking its third-largest acquisition as it races against OpenAI.

Boeing (BA): The Pentagon awarded Boeing a massive contract to supply F-15 jets to Israel, providing a significant lift to the defense giant.

Micron (MU): Trending high on retail watchlist as the stock trades near all-time highs after demand for AI-specific HBM memory outstrips supply.

Tesla (TSLA): Investors are watching for its Q4 delivery numbers.

Ekso Bionics (EKSO): This stock is garnering retail attention after it agreed to combine with Applied Digital's cloud computing business

Watch out for food processing and retail stocks following a massive ground beef recall across six states.

Other noteworthy tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing were IREN Limited (IREN), Oklo Inc (OKLO), Aptevo Therapeutics (APVO), Him & Hers Health (HIMS), Trump Media and Technology (DJT), Archer Aviation (ACHR) and Rivian (RIVN).

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, investors are looking ahead to the release of FOMC minutes at 2:00 pm ET and S&P/Case-Shiller housing data at 9:00 am ET today.

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