US pre-market, 22 September 2026: futures flat after Monday's AI surge as crude drags energy lower
Sentiment: mixed S&P 500 futures: +0.07%
S&P 500 futures sit at 7,839.00, up 0.07%, after the cash index closed Monday at 7,764.70 on a 1.49% gain led by AI and semiconductor names, and the flat pre-open points to consolidation rather than follow-through. SHOP.US leads the pre-market at +6.95% to $147.50 after Shopify agreed to run Shop Pay inside Meta's Muse AI agent, extending a 7.33% Monday close. The US 10-year yield sits at 4.93%, down 3 basis points, with the Fed's target range at 3.75% to 4.00% after the 16 September hike and three policymakers scheduled to speak today.
Overnight drivers
- Crude extended Monday's slide. WTI November trades at $90.35, down 2.19%, and Brent at $98.63, down 1.70%, as the market keeps pricing a possible Trump and Pezeshkian meeting at the UN. Refiners followed: MPC.US -2.09%, VLO.US -2.06%, PSX.US -1.84%, with COP.US -1.77% and XOM.US -1.01% beside them.
- Software bought, chipmakers sold. NOW.US +2.24%, SAP.US +1.84%, SNOW.US +1.81%, ORCL.US +1.73% and CRM.US +1.56% against AMD.US -1.42%, KLAC.US -1.41%, INTC.US -1.12% and MU.US -1.11%. Nasdaq futures read -0.03% against S&P futures at +0.07%.
- ADP released its weekly employment print at 8:15am ET. Private employers added 20,000 jobs a week on the four-week average through 5 September, a third consecutive week of accelerating hiring.
- US 10-year at 4.93%, down 3 bps. Dollar index 100.38 (-0.05%). VIX 14.66 (-1.41%) the morning after a 1.49% index gain.
Overnight Asia and Europe
- Nikkei 225 closed +1.38% at 65,018.95, the strongest of the Asian sessions.
- Hang Seng +0.18% at 25,087.75, SSE Composite +0.06% at 3,952.13, KOSPI +0.15% at 7,017.91.
- STOXX 600 +0.40% at 644.51, DAX +0.51% at 25,705.23, FTSE 100 +0.12% at 10,751.96 in mid-session.
- Gold December $4,372.80 (-0.25%), Bitcoin $86,065 (+0.90%).
Pre-market movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| SHOP.US | +6.95% | Shop Pay to run inside Meta's Muse AI agent |
| BABA.US | +3.07% | Zhenwu V900 chip and Qwen3.8-Max unveiled at Apsara |
| RCL.US | +2.50% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| NOW.US | +2.24% | Software bought while chip names sold |
| BKNG.US | +1.94% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| MRNA.US | -2.62% | Giving back a 12.27% Monday close |
| MPC.US | -2.09% | Second session lower, after -5.30% Monday |
| VLO.US | -2.06% | Crude 2.19% lower squeezes refining margins |
| PSX.US | -1.84% | Third refiner on the same input |
| AMD.US | -1.42% | Unwinding a 9.95% Monday gain |
Monday's close
- INTC.US +12.14%, META.US +11.43% and AMD.US +9.95% carried the Nasdaq to a 2.26% gain at 27,122.09.
- MRNA.US +12.27% was the widest single-name move outside the AI cohort.
- Energy was the one sector lower: XOM.US -3.20%, MPC.US -5.30%, VLO.US -4.84%, PSX.US -4.17%, COP.US -3.26%.
- Russell 2000 +0.52% at 2,875.36 and the Dow +0.71% at 52,048.83 both trailed the Nasdaq by more than a point.
US economic calendar today (ET)
- 8:15am ADP weekly employment change, out at 20,000 jobs a week through 5 September
- 10:00am Richmond Fed manufacturing and services indices
- Mid-morning NY Fed President Williams and Vice Chair Jefferson speak
- 1:00pm Richmond Fed President Barkin speaks
- 1:00pm Treasury 2-year note auction
- Pre-open AZO.US reported fiscal Q4 EPS of $56.05 against a $54.08 estimate, on revenue of $6.59bn versus $6.69bn consensus; the stock trades +0.59% at $2,820.00
- After the close KBH.US reports fiscal Q3
What to watch
- Nasdaq futures -0.03% against S&P futures +0.07% is the session's split: software bought, semiconductors sold.
- VIX at 14.66 shows no fresh demand for protection ahead of three Fed speakers, in a cycle where 16 of 18 officials have pencilled in another hike this year.
- Energy heads for a second consecutive down session, with WTI 2.19% lower on top of Monday's fall.
- Treasury sells 2-year notes at 1:00pm ET into a 10-year that has moved 3 bps in 24 hours.
Context only, not financial advice. Track your own trades with Swingfolio.