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By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta
(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday after a sharp selloff in the previous week, while Apple dipped as the iPhone maker's $500 billion investment plan fanned concerns of Big Tech overspending on artificial intelligence.
Chip stocks such as Nvidia and Micron rose more than 1.2% each. Nvidia's quarterly results are expected on Wednesday, putting semiconductor stocks in the spotlight for the week.
The artificial intelligence bellwether's forecast is likely to set the tone on Wall Street, after the launch of low-cost AI models from China's DeepSeek in January raised questions around hefty AI spending by Western companies.
"Despite the emergence of large language models which are cheaper to run, other signs, including huge infrastructure investment plans from tech giants like Meta, indicate that Nvidia's high-end chips will remain in demand," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Apple slipped 0.8% after the iPhone maker unveiled planned investments to help bring online a factory in Texas by 2026 to build AI servers and add about 20,000 research and development jobs across the U.S.
At 06:57 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 319 points, or 0.73%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 30.25 points, or 0.5%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 84.25 points, or 0.39%.
Wall Street's major gauges registered weekly losses on Friday, after a batch of weak economic data and a disappointing forecast from Walmart sparked concerns that the world's largest economy was stalling. The benchmark S&P 500 and a smallcaps index marked their worst daily declines of 2025.
On Monday, however, most megacaps ticked higher in premarket trading, with Amazon.com and Microsoft adding over 0.4% each. Financial stocks listed on the Dow, such as Goldman Sachs and American Express, gained more than 1.2% each.
On the data front, the Personal Consumption Expenditure index - the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge - is expected on Friday and could help markets gauge the timing of the central bank's first rate cut this year.
Interest rate futures indicate the Fed will leave borrowing costs unchanged for the first half of the year, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Following Friday's soft data, markets will also be keen on the Conference Board's report on consumer sentiment and the second estimate on quarterly gross domestic product, due later in the week. Remarks from at least nine Fed policymakers will also be parsed.
Among other movers, Berkshire Hathaway's Class B shares rose 1.4% after the Warren Buffett-owned conglomerate reported a record annual profit over the weekend.