US stock index futures edged lower premarket, with Brent crude nearing $100 per barrel, reinforcing expectations that central banks may need to raise interest rates to curb inflation. At 8:11 AM New York time, S&P 500 futures fell 0.3%, Nasdaq 100 futures were broadly flat, and Dow futures slipped 0.7%. Early this week, concerns over potential turmoil in the Middle East have dominated market sentiment.

Investors are also awaiting Friday's US inflation data, which could be pivotal in determining whether the Federal Reserve raises rates this month. Meanwhile, markets have largely priced in rate hikes by the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan for September. Anastasia Amoroso of Partners Group noted in an interview: "We might be heading into a digestion phase as global central bank policies are undergoing significant adjustments. Therefore, markets could give back some gains or at least enter a consolidation period."

Chip stocks outperformed in premarket trading. HSBC's Willem Sels commented that US equity valuations still do not fully reflect the productivity and earnings growth driven by artificial intelligence. He noted that chipmakers are particularly being discounted by investors, as the market remains skeptical even about earnings growth projections for 2027. Mark Preskett, Senior Portfolio Manager at Morningstar Wealth, remarked: "Looking at the bigger picture, some of the major AI companies have posted very strong results. But aside from Nvidia, the market reaction has been fairly muted."