US futures slide as AI trade wobbles; Micron, Marvell and Intel lead premarket declines

US equity futures fell early Tuesday, putting the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq on course to open in the red as unease spread through the market's artificial-intelligence trade. The pressure centered on semiconductors, with Micron, Marvell Technology and Intel among the most actively traded names in premarket action. The pullback marks a shift in tone for a market that has leaned heavily on AI enthusiasm to set records this year.

Futures tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq carried the steepest losses, a sign that the selling was concentrated in the same megacap and chip stocks that have driven most of 2024's gains. The S&P 500 and Dow were also indicated lower, though by smaller margins, suggesting the weakness was not a broad risk-off move so much as a rethink of AI valuations. Trading volumes in premarket were elevated in memory and networking chip names, according to early order flow.

Micron's slide drew particular attention because the memory maker is viewed as a direct read on demand for high-bandwidth memory used in AI accelerators. Marvell, which supplies custom silicon and optical components for data-center customers, has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of AI infrastructure spending. Intel, still working through its foundry turnaround, has traded in sympathy with the broader chip complex even as its own AI story remains unsettled.

The move fits a pattern that has repeated several times in recent months: any hint that AI capital spending could slow, or that expectations have run ahead of actual revenue, hits chipmakers first and hardest. Investors have been willing to pay premium multiples for AI exposure on the assumption that hyperscaler budgets will keep climbing. When that assumption gets questioned, the correction tends to be sharp and fast, even without a concrete piece of bad news.

What happens at the opening bell and in the first hour of cash trading will matter more than the premarket move. Traders will watch whether dip buyers step in around the semiconductor names or whether the selling broadens into software and the megacaps that have carried the indexes. The open question is whether this is a one-day breather in a still-intact uptrend or the start of a deeper repricing of the AI trade.

Beyond the chip names, the session will test whether the rest of the market can hold up if AI leadership falters. Defensive sectors and equal-weighted indexes have lagged for most of the year, leaving the major benchmarks unusually dependent on a handful of stocks. If that concentration unwinds further, the headline indexes could struggle even if the average stock fares better.