US equity markets are set for a mixed opening on Tuesday after a long weekend, with rising oil prices and renewed expectations of higher interest rates weighing on sentiment. About 90 minutes before the open, broker IG saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.8% lower at 53,013 points. The index had already given back part of its recent recovery on Friday, and Monday was a market holiday. The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 was seen 0.1% higher at 29,568 points after posting modest gains before the weekend on strength in semiconductor stocks.
Anastasia Amoroso of Swiss asset manager Partners Group said markets are likely in a digestion phase as central banks around the world undergo a significant policy adjustment. She told Bloomberg TV that equities could give back some of their earlier gains or at least enter a consolidation phase.
Oil prices extended their gains. A 159-liter barrel of North Sea Brent crude for November delivery traded above $98, close to the psychologically important $100 level. US benchmark WTI also rose sharply. Traders cited attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia on Saudi Arabia; the Gulf region's largest oil producer halted output at some plants near the Yemen border.
After a strong labor-market report before the weekend, Friday's inflation data could further raise expectations for a US rate increase next week. A rate hike by the European Central Bank on Thursday is already viewed as near-certain.
The oil-price move is expected to benefit US oil majors. Exxon Mobil and Chevron shares each rose more than 1% in premarket trading. Fuel-cell developer Bloom Energy was seen up 6.2% ahead of its inclusion in the S&P 500.
Dyne Therapeutics shares were expected to fall nearly 29%. The biotechnology company, which develops treatments for severe genetic neuromuscular diseases, could be dragged down by negative news from Novartis. The Swiss pharmaceutical group missed the primary endpoint in a Phase III trial of del-desiran for myotonic dystrophy type 1, adding to the disappointment from its earlier cardiovascular drug pelacarsen. Jefferies said it still sees success chances for a Dyne candidate in the area, but that is unlikely to provide immediate support.
Boston Scientific shares fell 2.5% in premarket trading after the company said it expects a cyberattack to have a significant impact on its results and that it may miss annual targets.
A separate report argues that the next bottleneck in the artificial-intelligence boom is power. Semiconductors, memory chips and data centers have already delivered large gains to investors, but new AI data centers may require multiple gigawatts rather than just megawatts, comparable to several modern nuclear reactor blocks. It describes a global race for available power capacity, with hyperscalers securing large volumes of electricity through long-term contracts while grids and generation capacity struggle to keep pace. Geopolitical risks around the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz are said to add pressure. For utilities and suppliers, rising demand, long-term offtake agreements and higher power prices could create a favorable environment in which selected companies become the next major AI trade. The report names five stocks that could benefit from the expanding energy demand and are partly still under the radar.
