US pre-open: Futures mixed as AI rout drags Wall Street toward losing week

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the bell on Friday, with all three major averages still on track for a losing week following a dramatic sell-off in AI-linked stocks in the previous session. As of 1230 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.28%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.11% and 0.36% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 386.51 points lower on Thursday after a dramatic turnaround in shares of artificial intelligence darling Nvidia as market participants seemingly gave up hope that the central bank would move to cut rates again in December.

Nvidia's stronger-than-expected third-quarter results and upbeat guidance briefly sent Wall Street higher on Thursday, with the Dow up nearly 718 points at one stage. However, the rally faded as broader weakness set in, leaving Nvidia down 3.2% by the close and on track for a 10.8% drop in November - the stock's worst month since March.

Fresh jobs data also added to the pressure, showing September payrolls growth ahead of forecasts but highlighting continued unevenness in the labour market as the unemployment rate weakened.

Rostro's Joshua Mahony said: "Yesterday's Nvidia bounce appears to have been short-lived, with the concerns evident around valuations coming back to haunt big tech once again. Central to the wider market decline was the Nvidia swing from +5% at the open, to a 3% decline. There had been a hope that Wednesday's earnings will have drawn a line under the recent selling pressure, building a narrative that the dip buyers were set to step in. However, one key element that has been central to the recent declines have been around Michael Burry's short positions and promise to shed further light on Tuesday (or before). That provides a major hurdle that lies ahead, with traders likely to remain cautious until we see all the details he says will shed light on the so-called 'fraud' within accounting in the tech space. Nonetheless, for the optimists, it is worth noting that the past two Friday sessions have seen a strong close to the week. Will we see the same today?"

On the macro front, preliminary readings of S&P Global's November manfacturing, services and composite PMIs will be published at 1445 GMT, while August wholesale inventories figures and the University of Michigan's November consumer sentiment index will follow at 1500 GMT

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Friday.





Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com