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Futures: up Dow 0.27%, S&P 500 up 0.09%, Nasdaq down 0.05%

Feb 4 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were muted on

Wednesday as investors avoided software and cloud stocks

following a bruising slide in the previous session, while AMD

slid after issuing a dour forecast.

The software and services index, home ‌to several

leading cloud and software companies, fell for a fifth straight

session on Tuesday, down more than 12% over the period, its

steepest stretch of losses since ​March 2020.

Losses were more measured on the second day, reflecting

persistent concerns about how rapid advances in artificial

intelligence could ‍upend long-standing software business models.

CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) was down 0.4%, while Intuit

and Adobe slipped 0.5% each ⁠in premarket trading.

Advanced Micro ⁠Devices slid 7.2%, after the company

forecast a slight dip in quarterly revenue, rekindling doubts

over how effectively it can take on Nvidia in the red-hot ‌AI

market.

"AMD reported into an ugly tape, with tech being sold ​and

questions about AI spending driving a sentiment shift across the

space," said Jake Behan, head of capital markets at Direxion.

"The move was more about traders stepping back from an

ostensibly crowded AI trade."

Some ⁠support came from Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ), which

jumped 12.4% after ‍raising its annual ​revenue forecast on

sustained demand for its AI-optimized servers as companies ramp

up data-center capacity.

At 05:29 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 132 points, or

0.27%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 6.25 points, or 0.09%,

and Nasdaq ‍100 E-minis were down 10.5 points, or 0.05%.

Alphabet rose 0.9% ahead of its results due after

markets close, while Amazon ( AMZN ) edged up 0.4% before its

report on Thursday.

Markets will scrutinize the results from the "Magnificent

Seven" for evidence that massive capital-spending plans are

yielding the kind of returns to justify their lofty valuations.

At the same time, the increasingly crowded AI trade has been

pushing investors toward undervalued small caps and other

overlooked corners of the market.

The small-cap Russell 2000 and the mid-cap ​S&P 400

ended ‍up 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, on Tuesday. The

Russell 2000 was on track for a weekly gain of more than 1%,

versus a modest decline for the S&P 500.

Volatility remained high. Wall Street's "fear gauge", the

CBOE ​index, was at 18.27 points, after touching its

highest level in two weeks in the prior session.

Eli Lilly ( LLY ), due to report its results shortly,

slipped 0.3%.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a spending

deal into law on Tuesday, ending a partial government shutdown

that had snarled the release of key labor-market data this week.

With some of the most watched government gauges - nonfarm

payrolls and JOLTS - running late, traders will squint harder on

private data, starting with ADP's national employment print for

January due at 8:15 a.m. ET.

Corporate earnings yet again highlighted ​the push-and-pull

between higher costs and a cautious consumer amid economic

uncertainty. Mondelez ( MDLZ ) forecast a subdued year, warning

that price increases are deterring cost-conscious shoppers amid

macro uncertainty. The Cadbury owner's shares fell 4.1%.

Chipotle Mexican Grill slid 6.5% after the burrito

chain said it expects to raise menu prices this year, ‍while

projecting margins to remain under pressure as diners pull back

on eating out.