Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq plateau as Wall Street scrutinizes Big Tech’s AI bills

US stock futures held steady as markets reacted to jitters around Big Tech’s AI spending and President Donald Trump’s fast-moving economic policy.

Futures attached to the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) barely moved the needle, upping 0.03%, while futures of the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) left the starting block with 0.09% movement. The Dow Jones (YM=F) futures fluttered upwards 0.11%.

Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) saw its stock drop on Tuesday but remained flat in after-hours trading. The tech giant’s earnings report showed a dip in cloud revenue, spooking investors about AI spending. Nvidia appears to be benefitting from Big Tech’s plans to keep spending big in AI, with its shares climbing 6% on Tuesday and remaining flat after the bell.

Amazon (AMZN) is the next flagship tech company to release earnings and will report after markets close Thursday. Investors are keenly awaiting Amazon results following Google’s cloud sales flop.

Meanwhile, Trump’s tariffs continue to rattle US companies across industries. Ford (FORD) slumped in after-hours trading despite an earnings beat due to muted expectations for Q1. The automaker’s CFO pointed to tariffs as a headwind, stating they “would have a major impact on our industry.”

Fast-food retailer Chipotle also addressed its tariff exposure, saying it will absorb extra costs by taking a 10% hit to it’s bottom line.

Fed watchers are growing concerned that the new tariffs could dial up inflation, and Federal Reserve officials reasserted their “wait and see” approach to lowering interest rates amid the changes. Treasure Secretary Scott Bessant said on Tuesday he and Trump would focus on lowering 10-year Treasury yields rather than lowering interest rates.

Meanwhile, gold (GC=F) hit record highs for the fifth day in a row. Demand for the asset is skyrocketing as banks and investors both seek stable ground against the backdrop of a mounting trade war. Futures are trading at $2885 per ounce, just shy of the $2905 high set earlier today.