Feb 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Tuesday as worries about AI-driven disruption unsettled investors after the long weekend, while markets also focused on corporate earnings.
Concerns over artificial intelligence sparked a selloff in software firms, brokerages and trucking companies last week, causing Wall Street's three main indexes to log their steepest weekly declines since mid-November.
"AI adoption is an overall positive rather than a negative, but it would change the business
models of some industries. We continue to see the AI disruption trade as a rotation theme, rather than a risk-off," said Mohit Kumar, economist at Jefferies.
Potential risks from Chinese AI players also added to the uncertainty. On Monday, Alibaba unveiled a new AI model, Qwen 3.5, designed to independently execute complex tasks. Its U.S.-listed shares rose 1% in premarket trading on Tuesday.
Most U.S. tech stocks were lower on Tuesday, with Nvidia losing 1%, while Microsoft and Apple inched down 0.4% each.
At 05:46 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis fell 69 points, or 0.14%, S&P 500 E-minis lost 23.25 points, or 0.34%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis shed 191.75 points, or 0.77%.
This week, the personal consumption expenditure report - the U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge - will be closely watched for insight into inflation and the potential impact on the central bank's rate-cut trajectory.
The dataset follows a cooler-than-expected consumer inflation reading last week that slightly raised bets on rate cuts this year.
Traders are pricing in a 25-basis-point reduction in June, with the odds at 52%, compared with a close-to-49% chance a week ago, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.
Corporate earnings will also be in focus, with Constellation Energy, eToro and Labcorp expected to report results before the bell.
More than 73% of S&P 500 companies reported earnings this quarter, of which 74.5% posted results above analysts' estimates, compared to 67% in a typical quarter, data from LSEG showed on Friday.
Markets await comments from Fed Governor Michael Barr and San Francisco President Mary Daly through the day.
Among other movers, Norwegian Cruise Line jumped 10% in premarket trading after the Wall Street Journal reported activist investor Elliott has built a more than 10% stake in the cruise operator.
U.S.-listed shares of Zim Integrated Shipping soared about 35% after Germany's Hapag-LLoyd agreed to buy the company for $4.2 billion.
Masimo surged about 37% after a report said Danaher was closing in on a nearly $10 billion deal to acquire the pulse-oximeter maker. Danaher lost 4.8%.
Investors will look for the Supreme Court's next opinion day on Friday, when a verdict on U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs could be announced.
(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
