Wall Street futures slip as AI worries flare again and Walmart earnings near
Stock index futures in the U.S. slipped early Thursday, putting the brakes on a three-session climb for the S&P 500. Investors appeared cautious, eyeing fresh jitters about artificial intelligence-related spending and holding off ahead of Walmart’s latest earnings report. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-slip-focus-turns-ai-worries-walmart-earnings-2026-02-19/ The shaky start matters—this rally’s been riding on a handful of tech behemoths, and investors want evidence that hefty AI bets actually translate into lasting profit gains. Walmart’s results arrive just as new Federal Reserve signals drop, a pairing that could jolt both rate bets and consumer stocks.