Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, USA, October 30, 2026. Brendan McDermid | ReutersStock futures rose on Monday as oil prices fell sharply, as investors prepared for a week packed with earnings results, jobs reports and the upcoming midterm elections. S&P 500 futures were trading up 0.5%, while Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.8%. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 310 points, or 0.6%. Brent crude fell 4.5% to $108.38 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate futures also fell more than 4% to $99.31. The moves come after major US stock indexes suffered a week of losses, bogged down by selling pressure in technology as investors continued to examine names linked to the development of artificial intelligence. Still, 3Fourteen Research’s Warren Pies isn’t too worried. “I just don’t see anything broken in the fundamentals of AI trading,” he said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime” on Friday. “The technical issues are another story.” The tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P 500 posted a losing October amid concerns over AI spending, with the Nasdaq suffering its worst losses since March 2025. However, the Dow rose nearly 2% as investors rotated into defensive areas such as healthcare. “Rather than running for the hills amid increased AI risks, investors are seeing big return potential in other types of stocks,” Mike Dickson, head of quantitative research and strategies at Horizon, said in a note last week. Dickson added that while this week’s midterm elections “have some investors concerned that changes in Washington, D.C. could affect markets, it’s important to remember that stocks tend to remain stable regardless of which party gains control of Congress.” The election will be held on Tuesday, when Democrats are expected to take control of the House of Representatives, while control of the Senate remains uncertain. It will be released on Friday and is expected to show an increase of 55,000 jobs for the month, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones. In addition to the closely watched monthly jobs report, a new round of earnings releases will also be released this week. Apple, a member of the “Magnificent Seven,” is scheduled to report after the bell on Monday. McDonald’s and Qualcomm are scheduled to report later this week. In Europe, the benchmark Stoxx 600 index was last up 0.1%, reversing earlier losses. France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.4%, followed by Germany’s DAX, up 0.3%.
