November 2, 2026, (Inside AI) — US equity futures climbed on Monday morning as the technology sector attempted to stabilize following a brutal October that erased more than $2.5 trillion from the Nasdaq-100. Dow E-minis rose 270 points (0.52%), S&P 500 E-minis gained 39.75 points (0.52%), and Nasdaq 100 E-minis added 253.5 points (0.89%) by 5:15 a.m. ET.
The rebound arrives at the start of a week dominated by the US midterm elections on Tuesday and a dense corporate earnings calendar. Investors are watching whether Democrats can seize control of Congress from President Donald Trump's Republican Party, a shift widely predicted for the House but uncertain for the Senate.
The stakes for the AI trade extend beyond politics. October's selloff reflected growing skepticism about Big Tech's soaring capital expenditures on artificial intelligence, with investors demanding evidence of stronger returns. Several companies have tapped bond markets to finance those investments, raising concerns that debt-funded spending becomes harder to justify as borrowing costs rise.
Debt-Funded AI Ambitions Meet Rising Skepticism
Sentiment toward AI stocks deteriorated sharply last week. Media reports on Friday indicated that OpenAI slashed the target for its latest funding round by $10 billion. A separate report stated that Blackstone told investors Anthropic may not secure an investment-grade rating after its IPO. Those developments compounded existing worries about the sector's ability to convert massive spending into sustainable profits.
Read: Nasdaq Faces $2 Trillion Wipeout in October as AI Spending Fears Deepen
The bond market angle deserves closer scrutiny. When AI companies finance infrastructure through debt rather than cash flow, they introduce interest-rate sensitivity into a sector that historically traded on growth narratives. Rising yields now directly pressure the economics of data center buildouts and model training runs. This creates a feedback loop where higher rates slow AI investment, which in turn weakens the revenue growth that justified the borrowing in the first place.
Monday's premarket action suggested a temporary reprieve. Most megacap and growth stocks rose, with SpaceX and Alphabet among the top gainers. Intel inched 0.2% higher after clocking its worst one-day fall since the 1980s on Friday. The chipmaker forecast quarterly revenue below market estimates and said it does not expect positive cash flow this year.
Rival AMD is set to report earnings later this week, while Apple eased 0.4% ahead of its quarterly results due after the bell. Beauty products maker Estée Lauder and hotel operator Marriott International were among prominent companies reporting before the bell on Monday.
Risk sentiment also received a lift from oil prices falling more than 4% as talks between Iranian and Qatari officials on a deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran raised hopes that Middle East supply disruptions could ease.
The political calendar adds another layer of uncertainty. Seth Meyer, global head of client portfolio management at Janus Henderson Investors, offered a measured view of the electoral impact.
"Midterm elections tend to be unfavourable events for the party in power and a Democratic victory in the House of Representatives would return the US to divided government, which would hardly be unusual," Meyer said.
"While political uncertainty can contribute to volatility, divided government can potentially insulate voters and the economy from some of the more ambitious policy intentions of either party. In short, gridlock may be good, and it certainly isn't unusual."
Among early-moving stocks, Okta gained 3.6% after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the identity management firm was to join the S&P 500, replacing Kenvue.
The week ahead will test whether Monday's stabilization represents a genuine shift in sentiment or merely a pause before further volatility. With midterms, earnings, and ongoing questions about AI spending discipline converging, investors face multiple catalysts that could swing markets in either direction.
