Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Gain After Tech-Led Rebound: Why NVDA, QCOM, AAPL, APLD, ASTS, NUVL Are Keeping Traders Engaged Today

Retail sentiment improved. Stocktwits data showed traders continued to maintain a ‘bullish’ stance on SPY and QQQ.

• Risk appetite improved after a tech-led rebound on Wall Street, and tensions in the Middle East eased a bit. 
• President Donald Trump announced a near-final peace deal following a halt in hostilities between Israel and Iran. 
• On the economic front, investors are tracking the U.S. trade deficit, existing home sales data, and developments surrounding the CLARITY Act.

U.S. stock futures were flashing green early Tuesday, as a tech-fueled rebound in the previous session kept investors optimistic. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions eased a bit after President Donald Trump announced a near-final peace deal following a halt in hostilities between Israel and Iran. 

As of 4:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday: Nasdaq futures rose 0.8%, S&P 500 futures were up 0.4%, Dow futures were up 0.1%, while Russell 2000 futures gained 0.5%.

Retail sentiment for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, remained in ‘bullish’ territory, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, moved to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ a day ago.

Trending Stocks To Watch

Qualcomm (QCOM) and Nvidia (NVDA) grabbed retail attention after CEO Jensen Huang endorsed a competitor during an industry event, telling investors to buy QCOM. 

Apple (AAPL) stock remained lackluster in early premarket trading, despite the company's unveiling of new Apple Intelligence capabilities and expanded AI-powered productivity tools. Investors will be tracking further commentary from the Worldwide Developers Conference, which continues this week.

Alibaba (BABA), Baidu (BIDU), and BYD: Reports indicate that the Pentagon added them to an updated list of Chinese companies allegedly supporting China's military. 

Applied Digital (APLD) gained retail attention and extended its gains with a 10% surge in early premarket on Tuesday after announcing a new 210-megawatt lease agreement at its Delta Forge 2 campus with a premier hyperscaler. 

OpenAI confidentially filed paperwork for a U.S. initial public offering, just days after rival Anthropic took a similar step. Meanwhile, AI search startup Perplexity has reportedly said it plans to pursue an IPO in 2028 rather than rushing to market amid the current AI frenzy. 

SpaceX (SPACZZX): According to reports, its upcoming IPO has attracted more than $10 billion in institutional orders, making it one of the most anticipated public offerings in recent years. 

In a recent SpaceX presentation, Elon Musk shared his vision for AI satellites, orbital data centers and Moon-based manufacturing. Other space stocks such as AST Spacemobile (ASTS), Intuitive Machines (LUNR) and Rocket Lab (RKLB) have risen between 2% and 4% in early premarket trade. 

Rumble (RUM): Extending its overnight rally after securing 85.2% of Northern Data AG's outstanding shares, reinforcing its AI pivot. 

GSK and Nuvalent (NUVL): GSK agreed to acquire Nuvalent in a transaction valued at approximately $10.6 billion to absorb its oncology pipeline. NUVL stock rose over 35% in early premarket trade on Tuesday.

Pony AI (PONY): Stock rose 4% in early premarket on news that Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment purchased 46,000 shares of the autonomous driving company.

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Compass Pathways (CMPS), Nio Inc (NIO), Lucid Group (LCID), Nike Inc (NIKE), and Sofi Technologies (SOFI).

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, investors are tracking the U.S. trade deficit and existing home sales data later today.

Investors are also watching Washington as administration officials hold high-stakes White House meetings with law enforcement to navigate crucial regulatory hurdles blocking the CLARITY Act.

On earnings radar, watch out for quarterly reports from Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC), EHang Holdings (EH), Academy Sports and Outdoors (ASO), United Natural Foods (UNFI) and SailPoint (SAIL), among others, before the bell. Lakeland Industries (LAKE), Bark (BARK), Cracker Barrel (CBRL), and Domo (DOMO) report after market close today. 

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