Futures tied to the Nasdaq-100 dropped in early trading Tuesday, as semiconductor names fell once again, with traders weighing the latest deluge of corporate earnings. Nasdaq-100 futures were down 0.7%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 464 points, or 0.9%, as strong earnings from Sherwin-Williams and Coca-Cola boosted the 30-stock benchmark. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) shed 3%, led by 5% declines in Micron and Western Digital. Seagate Technology and Astera Labs were also down on the day. Wall Street is coming off a choppy trading session. The Dow advanced more than 260 points while the S&P 500 eked out a slight gain. The Nasdaq Composite fell on Monday as an unwind in semiconductor stocks weighed on the tech-heavy index, which spilled over into Asian markets overnight, with South Korea’s Kospi temporarily halted after slumping 11%. SMH on Monday dropped 3.3%, marking its third losing session in a row. The tension in the market reflects uncertainty ahead of a big week for stocks with earnings results from Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft on the calendar. The chip trade hinges on continued spending from the hyperscalers — even as the mega-caps themselves falter. Apple also reports this week. A Federal Reserve rate decision is due Wednesday. Investors expect that the central bank will remain on hold but will seek greater clarity on the path forward for monetary policy. Fed funds futures were last pricing in a quarter point hike in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. “Our call is for no change,” Padhraic Garvey, regional head of research for the Americas at ING, said in a Tuesday morning note. “We see inflation expectations tame enough for comfort. Also, the structure of the curve does not shape up for a rate-hiking cycle. Specifically, the 5-year is rich to the curve.” “It’s unusual for the Fed to start a rate hiking cycle with the 5-year rich to the curve. If we’re wrong and the Fed does hike (whether at this meeting or the next), the curve structure suggests that any hikes delivered will be subsequently reversed, and the funds rate ends up lower than it is today within a 12-month window.” Treasury yields continued to retreat on Tuesday as traders await this week’s Federal Reserve interest rate decision, while the ongoing pause in U.S.-Iran hostilities sent oil prices lower, raising hopes of a more sustainable ceasefire arrangement. The 10-year Treasury note yield—the main benchmark for mortgages, auto loans, and credit card debt—was down by more than 1 basis point at 4.628%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note, which tends to react in line with short-term Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, was also 1 basis point lower at 4.31%. The longer-dated 30-year Treasury yield, which is often sensitive to geopolitical events, was seen nearly 1 basis point lower at 5.118%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 3.95% lower at 62,364.92, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 10.84% to 6,023.66. Both indexes were supported by losses in tech stocks. Kospi heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix dropped 13.4% and over 14.7%, respectively. Over in Japan, SoftBank declined 4.43%, and Advantest fell over 10%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.60% to 8,947.80. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.31% in its last hour of trade Tuesday, while mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 2.83% lower at 4,569.52. Oil prices fell Tuesday as Iran held discussions about the Strait of Hormuz with Saudi Arabia and Oman. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, fell by 1.5% to $87.05 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped by around 1.2% to $81.59 a barrel. Gold retreated on Tuesday, weighed down by a firm dollar, as investors hunkered ​down for the ​Federal Reserve’s policy verdict at ​the end of its two-day meeting this week for insight into the direction of U.S. interest rates. Spot gold fell 0.8% to $4,042.29 an ounce, while U.S. ⁠gold ‌futures for August delivery slid 0.8% to $4,042.80. “Gold has ⁠been holding to a very tight range based on support in the $4,000 region since late June, which suggests that at some stage there will be a break-out,” said Rhona O’Connell, head of market ‌analysis at StoneX.