Futures rise as tech stocks gain; Middle East conflict in focus
USA TODAY
U.S. stock index futures rose Monday with shares of Meta among top gainers as elevated crude prices due to the Middle East conflict kept risk-taking in check.
March 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday with shares of Meta among top gainers after a report said the megacap was prepping for sweeping AI-related layoffs, even as elevated crude prices due to the raging Middle East conflict kept risk-taking in check.
Meta gained 3% in premarket trading after a Reuters report said it was planning to shrink 20% or more of its workforce to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers.
The Instagram parent joins similar announcements made by Amazon.com AMZN.O and Block XYZ.N earlier this year.
AI is also expected to stay in the spotlight this week, with chip giant Nvidia's annual developer conference scheduled later in the day, and results from Micron MU.O. Electronics giant Taiwan's Foxconn also issued a strong quarterly revenue forecast.
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