Megacap Growth Stocks Surge Amid Falling Treasury Yields

Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures rose as declining U.S. Treasury yields boosted megacap growth stocks like Apple and Nvidia. This optimism comes ahead of key economic data and follows strong May growth for major indexes. Investors are eyeing this week's economic indicators for insights, particularly on inflation and employment data.

Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures started the month on a positive note on Monday as falling U.S. Treasury yields boosted megacap growth stocks ahead of a data-packed week.

Megacap stocks including Apple, Meta and Alphabet gained between 0.2% and 0.4% in premarket trading, as yields on the benchmark U.S. 10-year and five-year notes slipped about 5 basis points each. Chip stocks also jumped, led by AI leader Nvidia, which rose 3.5% after chief executive Jensen Huang said on Sunday the company's next-generation AI chip platform would be rolled out in 2026.

Yields began retreating off one-month highs on Friday as investors increased bets on a September start to interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve after inflation indicated a potential cooling of price pressures, as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index. The technology sector closed slightly lower on Friday as investors rebalanced their month-end portfolios.

However, despite the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq snapping their five-week winning streaks on Friday, all three of Wall Street's main indexes ended May with strong gains. The S&P 500 rose 4.8%, the Dow climbed 2.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose nearly 7% last month, as strong earnings and hopes of easing monetary policy buoyed Wall Street's biggest stocks.

"AI drivers, earnings and inflation will continue to drive the market," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. Attention turns to crucial data this week, including surveys on the manufacturing and services sector, factory orders and Friday's closely watched nonfarm payrolls report, which will provide investors with clues on the health of the U.S. economy and the Fed's likely course of action.

Manufacturing survey readings for May from the Institute for Supply Management and S&P Global are due later in the day. "We're going to be looking at employment data this Friday and we're getting a whole slew of economic reports, so inflation will still be very much foremost in investors' minds," Stovall said.

At 8:40 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 3 points, or 0.01%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 12.75 points, or 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 98 points, or 0.53%. Among others, shares of GameStop soared 74.4% after a weekend Reddit post from stocks influencer Keith Gill, also known as "Roaring Kitty," showed a $116 million bet on the gaming retailer.

Other so-called meme stocks such as AMC and Tupperware rose 25.2% and 10.3%, respectively, while retail-focused brokerage Robinhood gained 4.1%. Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices rose 1.8% after it unveiled its latest AI processors and detailed plans to take on competitor Nvidia. Arm Holdings' U.S. listing added 2.3% after the company said it expects 100 billion of its devices to be ready for artificial intelligence by the end of next year.

Paramount Global shares gained 5.5% after a report on Sunday said Skydance Media had sweetened its buyout offer for the company to $15 per share. Waste Management

will buy medical waste disposal company Stericycle in a deal valued at $7.2 billion, the companies said, sending shares of the bigger firm down

1.7 % in choppy trading.