US markets today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures indicate gap-up open; Accenture-Anthropic deal, Paramount shares in focus

US equity market futures indicate a gap-up open on Monday, September 21, as investors focused on the sharp drop in crude oil prices to near $101 per barrel (bbl) level, momentum from Asian markets, and the Accenture-Anthropic collaboration deal, which aims to invest $1 billion over the next five years.

Dow Jones futures were trading 0.84% higher at 52,518 points ahead of the opening bell on Monday’s market, indicating a more than 800-point higher open when compared to the previous Wall Street close, according to Investing.com data.

The S&P 500 index futures were up 0.70% at 7,766 points ahead of the open on September 21, indicating a 116-point higher open when compared to the previous US equity market close, according to the exchange data.

The data also showed that the Nasdaq 100 index futures were up 1.10% at 30,246.50 points ahead of the opening bell on Monday’s market, indicating an over 600-point higher open due to the elevated buying interest among investors amid the latest Accenture-Anthropic deal.

Key things to watch before US market opens

US stocks to watch on Sept 21

As per the deal, both companies will invest at least $1 billion in building capacity over the next five years. This collaboration comes after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called out the slowdown in AI development in the industry.

“Accenture and Anthropic today announced that they are partnering to establish a team of embedded evaluators to work alongside Anthropic’s internal teams and safety partners to evaluate and red-team models, conduct alignment assessments, and test model safeguards,” as per the official statement.

As per the outlook, Novo Nordisk plans to launch at least five drugs by 2030 and generate more than $23 billion in sales pipeline by 2035.

Asian markets end higher

Asian equity market benchmark indices ended higher after the trading session on Monday, September 21, as investors focused on the fall in oil prices and positive momentum from artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaking stocks in the market.

MarketWatch data showed that Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended 1.38% higher, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended 1.18% higher, Shanghai Composite ended 0.97% higher, India’s SENSEX closed 0.76% higher, South Korea’s KOSPI ended 1.65% higher, and Singapore’s FTSE ended 0.34% higher on Monday.

Stocks like SK Hynix, AEM Holdings, and Kioxia Holdings were among others the top gainers across the benchmark indices in Korea and Japan.

Economic releases this week

This week, equity market investors will remain focused on a few key economic data indicators, including S&P Global’s US Flash Manufacturing PMI release scheduled for publication at 9:45 am (ET) on Wednesday, September 23.

The US Department of Labor will also release the Weekly Jobless Claims data at 8:30 am (ET) on Thursday, September 24. Investors will also keep a watch on the New Home Sales data, which will be released on the same day at 10:00 am (ET).

Along with the New Home Sales data, the US Census Bureau will also release the monthly Durable Goods data for the US economy.

How did US markets end last week?

The US equity market indices ended on a mixed note last week, with Dow Jones in the red, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed in the green amid a rebound in Treasury yields and crude oil prices amid tech sector momentum cues.

MarketWatch data showed that the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.18% lower at 51,682.64 points after the trading session on Friday, in comparison to 51,778.04 points at the previous equity market close.

In contrast, the S&P 500 index closed 0.17% higher at 7,650.50 points after the trading session on September 18, compared to 7,637.76 points at the previous US equity market close.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index gained to close 0.67% higher at 29,644.17 points after the market session on Friday last week, in comparison to 29,446.98 points at the previous Wall Street close.