US EQUITY OPEN: Indices weaker as Tech lags led by CRWV sell-off

OPEN: US indices open in the red, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 underperforming and reversing some of Monday's gains as the AI trade sell-off resumes. Given this, Technology is the sectoral laggard, followed by Communications, with Industrials and Materials the only other ones in the red. Health, Utilities, and Real Estate outperform as earnings season continues to get under way. CoreWeave (CRWV) is contributing to the downside and comes as HSBC maintains its 'Reduce' rating on shares, with a PT of USD 39, implying 36% downside. There has been no tier 1 US data, with a lack of it this week, as earnings after-hours from Netflix and SpaceX are the highlights. In FX, G10 peers are gaining vs. the Dollar, with the Pound, and Swissy outperforming, as the former sees strength on an upbeat jobs report, while JPY was unmoved following BoJ sources. Treasuries are firmer, while precious metals are mixed. WTI and Brent have seen choppy trade, especially in the wake of the latest geopolitical reports, amid reports of mediation efforts, with sources saying that "Qatar and Pakistan presented a 'compromise proposal' that meets the demands of both the American and Iranian sides". Ahead, private inventory metrics after-hours.

• 3M (MMM): Profit beat & lifted FY EPS guide
• RTX (RTX): Top & bottom line surpassed exp. w/ strong outlook
• Steel Dynamics (STLD): EPS & rev. short of Wall St. consensus
• Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS): Starboard Value has built a stake worth several hundred million dollars
• MSCI (MSCI): Rev. beat
• General Motors (GM): Announced $20B share repurchase prog.
• Crown Holdings (CCK): Weak next Q profit outlook
• Equifax (EFX): Solid Q results
• Halliburton (HAL): EPS & rev. topped Wall St. exp.
• Apple (AAPL): Downgraded at Loop Capital
• Salesforce (CRM) to acquire Braze (BRZE) for c. $5.66bln in enterprise value & shareholders to receive $47.50/shr in cash

Reversals of a prior session's AI-led bounce, driven by a single-name downgrade in a high-multiple infrastructure name, have been a recurring signature of concentrated momentum trades; episodes of this kind have tended to see the pain confined to the crowded AI cohort and its suppliers while defensives (Health, Utilities, Real Estate) catch the rotation bid, exactly the sectoral pattern printed here. The distinction worth drawing is between idiosyncratic pressure on one issuer's economics, where sell-side target cuts imply large downside to a hotly owned name, and a broader reassessment of AI capex payback, which would show up in the hyperscalers and semis rather than one ticker. With no tier 1 data on the calendar, single-stock earnings and after-hours prints carry outsized index weight, and light data weeks have historically amplified headline-driven chop. The Treasury bid alongside equity weakness and a softer Dollar against most G10 peers fits the standard risk-parity pattern rather than anything idiosyncratic. The oil angle turns on the reported mediation channel involving Qatar and Pakistan; prior episodes of this kind have whipsawed crude on headline quality alone, with private inventory data after-hours the next concrete input. Watchpoints are whether the AI selling broadens beyond the one name, and whether the after-hours earnings reset the tape's direction.