By Noreen Burke
Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open Tuesday as investors took a breather after the Nasdaq closed at record highs on Monday boosted by pickup in merger activity, including Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) pursuit of TikTok's U.S. operations.
At 7:30 AM ET (1130 GMT), S&P 500 futures were 10 points, or 0.3% lower and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 40 points, or 0.3%. The Dow futures contract edged down 47 points, or 0.1%.
The move lower came after the Dow ended 0.9% higher on Monday, the S&P 500 hit its highest level since Feb. 21 and the Nasdaq closed at a record high.
Market sentiment was hit as tensions between the U.S. and China flared up amid President Donald Trump's moves to force China-owned TikTok into a sale of its U.S. operations.
Trump said on Monday the U.S. government should get a "substantial portion" of any deal price. On Tuesday, state-backed newspaper China Daily said the country will not accept the "theft" of the technology company.
Microsoft and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had both jumped on Monday, powering gains in the tech sector.
Apple jumped for a second straight session following stunning quarterly results and announcing a four-for-one stock split. The tech giant is about $140 billion short of hitting $2 trillion in market capitalization.
In Washington, White House officials and Democratic leaders in the U.S. Congress are to hold further talks on a fifth major coronavirus-aid bill Tuesday to help bolster the economy and possibly dispatch new aid to tens of millions of unemployed Americans.
"We're making some progress on certain issues," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters after Monday's talks. "There are a lot of issues that are still outstanding."
In commodity markets, U.S. crude futures traded 1.6% lower at $40.34 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent fell 1.7% to $43.41 amid concerns over a patchy rebound in demand just as output is ramping up.
Elsewhere, gold futures were hovering near record highs at $1,980.75/oz, while EUR/USD traded at 1.1770, little changed on the day.
--Reuters contributed to this report