US equity futures point to a softer open, with Asian markets generally weaker and European equities narrowly mixed. Today’s focus is on a pause in the recent pro-cyclical rally as geopolitical risks and upcoming event risk weigh on sentiment. Energy and financials underperformed amid renewed uncertainty around Venezuela developments, while Trump’s social media comments on restricting institutional housing investment and curbing defense-sector buybacks added to sector-specific volatility. Moreover, macro data sent mixed signals, leaving Fed expectations broadly unchanged. Investors are now looking ahead to Friday’s payrolls report, the pending Supreme Court ruling on Trump tariffs, and the next round of earnings and policy decisions as near-term catalysts.

Companies Mentioned: Nvidia, Chevron, Eli Lilly, Ventyx Biosciences