Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Subdued After Dow Closes Above 50,000: Why TSLA, RBLX, TSM, HOOD, KD Are On Traders' Radar Today

Retail chatter on Stocktwits shows ‘ bearish’ sentiment for the SPY ETF, as well as tech-heavy QQQ.

• Early futures action suggests traders were shifting focus from index-level momentum to stock-specific catalysts.
• On the economic front, investors will be watching for December retail sales data.
• Fintech stocks are seeing renewed chatter after YouTube star MrBeast revealed a push into financial services via the acquisition of the fintech app Step.

U.S. stock futures were muted early Tuesday after the Dow’s record close above 50,000 in the previous trading session.

As of 3:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Dow futures were flat with a positive bias, while the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 futures were flat, with a negative bias.  

Meanwhile, retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, has remained ‘bearish’, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, slipped to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral’ a day ago amid high message volumes. 

Trending Stocks To Watch

Tesla (TSLA): The Elon Musk-led EV company continues to see senior leadership departures, with the latest being Raj Jegannathan, who left after 13 years.

Amazon (AMZN): The company is reportedly planning a new marketplace that would allow publishers to market content to AI firms.

Meta Platforms (META) and Alphabet (GOOGL): Big tech faces renewed legal scrutiny, with allegations that their platforms were designed to addict children. A trial is underway in California. 

TSMC (TSM): It has reported 37% year-over-year growth in January revenue. Reports also suggest that the U.S. government may exempt it from tariffs on semiconductors. 

Databricks: Has raised $5 billion in fresh funding, valuing the company at $134 billion and intensifying comparisons with Snowflake. 

Kyndryl (KD): The stock is in focus after a JPMorgan double-downgrade, following a surprise CFO exit and accounting review

Roblox (RBLX): The Australian government has called a meeting with the gaming platform over reports of child grooming and exposure to graphic content on the platform. Meanwhile, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has bought more shares in Roblox and Bullish.

Keep an eye on Robinhood, SoFi, and Block: YouTube star "MrBeast" has announced a push into financial technology with the acquisition of the fintech app Step.

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Snap Inc (SNAP), Pagaya Technologies (PGY), Innodata (INOD), and Wave Life Sciences (WVE), among others. 

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, investors will be watching retail sales data for December, the employee cost index for Q4, and import and export price indexes. 

On the earnings radar, investors will also be watching for the quarterly reports from Coca-Cola (KO), CVS Health (CVS), Marriott (MAR), Spotify (SPOT), Datadog (DDOG), Fiserv (FISV), Incyte (INCY), Oscar Health (OSCR), Quest Diagnostics (DGX), Zimmer Biomet (ZBH), Hasbro (HAS), Saia (SAIA), Harley-Davidson (HOG), Robinhood (HOOD), and Cloudflare (NET), among others.

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