Stocks Set to Open Higher on Tech Boost, Fed Minutes and Retail Earnings Awaited

Stocks Set to Open Higher on Tech Boost, Fed Minutes and Retail Earnings Awaited Oleksandr Pylypenko Mon, August 17, 2026 at 6:35 AM EDT 7 min read September S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESU26) are up +0.14%, and   September Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQU26) are up +0.46% this morning as investors kicked off the new week by piling into tech stocks amid fresh evidence of surging AI demand. Chip and AI infrastructure stocks were among the biggest gainers in pre-market trading after Anthropic PBC's strong revenue growth reinforced expectations that massive AI spending will be sustained. Bloomberg reported that Anthropic PBC told prospective investors its Q2 revenue surged at least 14-fold from a year earlier. Also, Anthropic reported positive adjusted operating income in Q2, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. Memory stocks got an extra boost after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told The Wall Street Journal that the Trump administration does not want Apple to buy memory chips from China. More News from Barchart A $210 Billion Reason to Buy AMD Stock Here CoreWeave vs Nebius: Both Companies Reported Strong Earnings, But Here's the Stock You Should Buy As Oracle Deepens Its Partnership with AWS, Here's How You Should Play ORCL Stock Stop Missing Market Moves: Get the FREE Barchart Brief – your midday dose of stock movers, trending sectors, and actionable trade ideas, delivered right to your inbox. Sign Up Now! However, gains in stock index futures were limited as…