Wall Street opened September under pressure on Tuesday as stock futures edged lower and rising bond yields made investors cautious, sapping risk appetite.

September has historically been the weakest month for the S&P 500, and the day’s early trading reflected that seasonal pattern. With markets also heading into a busy stretch of company updates, traders were weighing whether individual earnings and product news could offset the broader pressure from rates.

Novartis Leads Gainers After MS Drug Breakthrough

Novartis was the day’s standout gainer, with shares rising about 4% to 4.5%. The Swiss drugmaker said its oral BTK inhibitor remibrutinib met primary endpoints in two Phase III trials for relapsing multiple sclerosis.

The trials, REMODEL-1 and REMODEL-2, showed that remibrutinib reduced annualized relapse rates compared with teriflunomide. The drug also improved MRI brain lesion reduction and delayed disability progression.

Novartis said it plans to present the data at the MSToronto2026 congress and begin global regulatory filings.

The gains came despite separate news that the company paused eight clinical trials of its experimental CAR-T therapy Rap-cel after three patients died from severe immune reactions in late August.

Robinhood was another bright spot. Shares rose 2.3% to $107.22 after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Overweight and raised its price target to $150 from $124. The bank cited improving product capabilities and better economics from Robinhood’s existing customer base.

AI and Tech Stocks Fall as Risk Appetite Drops

Artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related stocks came under pressure in premarket trading. Sandisk fell 3.2%, while Marvell, Intel, and Corning also declined.

Investors pulled back from risk assets as bond yields climbed, adding pressure to growth-oriented technology names. That move matters because chipmakers and other high-valuation tech stocks often face more selling when borrowing costs rise, making the sector especially sensitive at the start of a month that has a reputation for volatility.

NIO dropped about 4% ahead of its upcoming second-quarter earnings report, even after the Chinese electric vehicle maker reported a 14.5% year-over-year increase in August deliveries to 35,836 vehicles.

August deliveries included 21,174 units from the core NIO brand, 8,810 from the ONVO sub-brand, and 5,852 from FIREFLY. The total was slightly below July’s 35,934 deliveries.

Metallus also declined about 3% after announcing that CEO Michael S. Williams will retire on December 31, 2026. President and COO Kris R. Westbrooks will become CEO on January 1, 2027, and Williams will remain as a special advisor through June 2027.

Several companies are scheduled to report earnings after Tuesday’s close, including Palo Alto Networks, Dell, Credo, and MongoDB.

Markets will be watching those results closely as investors look for direction deeper into September, especially for signs on demand, guidance, and whether stronger company-specific results can help steady sentiment in a rates-sensitive market.