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AI Outlook, Persian Gulf Dent Wall Street Pre-Bell; Asia Off, Europe Up

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-- Wall Street futures pointed moderately lower pre-bell Tuesday on renewed concerns regarding AI-related capital outlays, as well as the ongoing stand-off in the Persian Gulf.

ChatGPT creator OpenAI has fallen short of targets for new users and revenue, raising market concerns whether heavy AI-sector capital spending will be validated in the future by revenue and profits, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

In the futures, the S&P 500 fell 0.2%, the Nasdaq declined 0.7% but the Dow Jones was up 0.2%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded up 3.6% at $99.85, as the Strait of Hormuz remained essentially closed to tanker traffic.

Asian exchanges traded mostly lower overnight, while European bourses inched north midday on the continent.

General Motors (GM) rose 5% pre-bell after reporting Q1 black ink that topped consensus, and raising guidance, in morning hours.

On the economic calendar is Case-Shiller Home Price Index and the FHFA House Price Index bulletins, both for February, at 9 am ET.

The Conference Board consumer confidence report for April, and the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for April, post at 10 am.

In premarket action, Bitcoin traded at $76,608 and 10-year US Treasuries offered 4.36%. Spot gold commanded $4,613 an ounce.

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