US stock futures steady after tech losses batter Wall St; earnings in focus

U.S. stock index futures steadied in evening deals on Tuesday after losses in technology stocks- triggered by weak earnings from chipmaking bellwether ASML- dragged Wall Street off record highs.

Focus remained on more corporate results, with the third-quarter earnings season set to continue this week.

S&P 500 Futures steadied at 5,863.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose slightly to 20,355.75 points by 19:09 ET (23:09 GMT). Dow Jones Futures were flat at 43,009.0 points.

Chipmakers sink on weak ASML outlook
The tech sector was battered by losses in major chipmakers, after semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker ASML (AS:ASML) Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) cut its annual forecast on weak demand for chips not related to artificial intelligence.

The stock slid 16.3% on Tuesday, although it regained some ground in aftermarket trade. ASML’s September quarter earnings still beat estimates.

Chipmakers were also rattled by a report suggesting the U.S. government was considering limiting sales of AI-related chips to certain countries- a scenario that heralds weaker sales.

Market darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) slid 4.5%, while rivals AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) lost 5.2% and 3.3%, respectively. All three stocks steadied in aftermarket trade.

Focus in the tech and chipmaking sectors will be squarely on third-quarter earnings from Taiwan’s TSMC (NYSE:TSM)- the world’s biggest contract chipmaker- which are due on Thursday. The company is also considered as a bellwether for the chipmaking industry.

Losses in chipmakers battered Wall St on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 falling 0.8% to 5,815.26 points from a record high. The NASDAQ Composite fell nearly 1% to 18,322.05 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 42,740.42 points, also falling from a record high.

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Q3 earnings to continue this week
A weak print from ASML largely overshadowed positive earnings from major banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC). Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is now set to round out bank earnings on Wednesday.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) are also set to report on Wednesday, while Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) will report on Thursday.

The earnings season is set to peak next week with prints from a string of major technology firms, including Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA).

Beyond earnings, investor focus is also on addresses from a string of Federal Reserve officials, amid growing bets that interest rates will fall at a slower-than-expected pace.