US STOCKS-Tech megacaps, chipmakers set to drag Nasdaq lower at open

Industrials Caterpillar Inc and Boeing Co, which tend to benefit from an economic rebound, inched higher. Investors moved into value and cyclical stocks from tech-heavy growth names after the Federal Reserve last week indicated it could begin unwinding its bond-buying program by as soon as November, and may raise interest rates in 2022.

The Nasdaq was set to fall at the open on Monday as investors swapped technology heavyweights for stocks linked to economic growth amid increasing confidence in a recovery.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis shed more than 153 points, or 1%, weighed down by Alphabet Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc, and Apple Inc. Industrials Caterpillar Inc and Boeing Co, which tend to benefit from an economic rebound, inched higher.

Investors moved into value and cyclical stocks from tech-heavy growth names after the Federal Reserve last week indicated it could begin unwinding its bond-buying program by as soon as November and may raise interest rates in 2022. Although monetary tightening is frequently seen as a drag on stocks, some investors view the Fed's stance as a vote of confidence in the U.S. economy.

"You're seeing sort of very broad top-line pressure on some of the things like technology shares. You might see that happening as the week goes on as well. That's going to be an everyday watch," said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist, and senior portfolio manager at SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York. "Interest in the cyclical will continue to be at the forefront of investors' minds as interest rates trend higher. This is the sort of go-to trade right now."

The S&P 500 Value index is down 1.4% so far this month, but still outperforming its growth counterpart. Oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp rose 2% and 1.6% in premarket trade, respectively, tracking crude prices, while big lenders including JPMorgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America Corp gained about 1%.

Wall Street ended a turbulent week with slight increases on Friday, although the benchmark S&P 500 index was on track to break its seven-month winning streak on concerns related to higher potential corporate taxes and China Evergrande's default. Goldman Sachs strategists said the 2022 outlook for return-on-equity (ROE) on U.S. stocks is more challenging as margins stabilize and corporate taxes rise.

At 8:36 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 2 points, or 0.01%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 16.5 points, or 0.37%. Investors will now watch for a raft of economic indicators, including the inflation report and the ISM manufacturing index this week to gauge the pace of the recovery, as well as bipartisan talks over raising the $28.4 trillion debt ceiling.

The U.S. Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to prevent the second partial government shutdown in three years, while a vote on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill is scheduled for Thursday. Among other stocks, chipmakers Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Broadcom Inc, Qualcomm Inc, and Micron Technology Inc slipped between 0.6% and 1.1% as widening power shortages in China threatened to curb production.