Dow Jones was up 0.44 per cent, S&P rose 0.27 per cent, Nasdaq jumped 0.32 per cent as U.S. stock index futures climbed on Monday. Investors' sentiments were boosted by Nvidia and Microsoft's latest gains even though uncertainty surrounding Middle East tensions continues. Nvidia rose 2.4 per cent in premarket trading after the world's most valuable company unveiled a new chip, set for release this fall, which brings AI capabilities to laptops and desktops. The chip is a result of a three-year partnership with Microsoft to "reinvent the PC" for the AI era, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said. Microsoft shares added 3.3 per cent. Other PC chipmakers dropped. AMD and Intel fell more than 4 per cent each, Apple dipped nearly 1 per cent and Qualcomm tumbled 8.6 per cent.
The broader mood was somber and oil prices climbed after the latest attacks between the U.S. and Iran raised concerns over efforts to negotiate an end tothe three-month-old conflict.
Wall Street's main indexes closed May at record highs, buoyed by hopes of an eventual end to the war and blowout first-quarter earnings. Optimism around AI has helped boost U.S. equities, but concerns over the economic impact from the hostilities remain.
Investors will turn to Friday's jobs report ahead of Kevin Warsh's debut policy meeting as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve this month, against the backdrop of rising inflation fears linked to the Iran war.
Traders have priced in a near 70 per cent chance of a quarter-point rate hike before the end of the year.
AI-server maker Dell last week forecast strong results and focus will shift to Broadcom earnings on Wednesday. Broadcom is the second-largest U.S. chipmaker by market value after Nvidia.
Comments from a slew of central bank officials and a beige book report this week will also be watched before the Fed enters its pre-meeting blackout period on Saturday.
In other company news, Cadence Design Systems rose 7.1 per cent after launching an autonomous engineer for chip design, powered by Nvidia. Taylor Morrison Home Corp jumped 22.1 per cent after Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy the homebuilder for $6.8 billion in cash. Micron rose 5.5 per cent to $1,022, topping the $1,000 mark for the first time. Its shares have soared nearly 90 per cent in May.
