Nasdaq, Dow, S&P 500 Futures Drop Premarket: NVDA, AMD, META, CRWV, MRNA, WDC, BE In Focus

Stocktwits retail sentiment for SPY and DIA was ‘extremely bearish,’ while it remained ‘bearish’ for QQQ.

• Oil prices climbed amid reports of potential fresh U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, with Brent crude topping $114 a barrel.
• Meta, Nvidia and AMD recovered in premarket trading after Thursday’s sell-off, while CoreWeave and SK Hynix also advanced.
• Moderna extended losses after plunging nearly 18% on Thursday, while Western Digital fell despite beating earnings expectations and issuing an upbeat outlook.

U.S. stock futures were lower early on Friday after a sharp sell-off in chip stocks, as concerns grew that the artificial intelligence trade could lose near-term momentum.

As of 6 a.m. ET, Nasdaq 100 futures edged 0.04% lower, while Dow futures fell 0.60%. S&P 500 futures tumbled 0.23%.

Earlier, on Thursday, the benchmark indexes ended mixed, with the S&P 500 down 1.2%, the Nasdaq 100 falling 2.9%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average remaining flat.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits remained weak. Sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500, trended in ‘extremely bearish’ territory over the past day. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq 100, saw sentiment shift to ‘bearish’ from ‘extremely bearish’, while sentiment towards the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) remained in the ‘extremely bearish’ zone.

US-Iran Tensions Drive Oil Higher

Oil prices rose again amid escalating geopolitical tensions, with reports suggesting that the U.S. and Israel are considering fresh strikes on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections in November. Tehran has vowed to retaliate against any new attacks, potentially targeting economic and civilian infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reported.

As of 6 a.m. ET, Brent crude futures expiring December were up 1.1% to $114 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 1.6% % to over $101 per barrel.

The Tech Radar

Meta Platforms (META): Shares dipped 0.6% in early premarket trading on Friday, recovering slightly after falling more than 7% on Thursday, when investors reacted negatively to another increase in the company’s annual AI spending forecast and plans to issue new shares to help fund the investment. The sell-off came despite better-than-expected results and a strong forecast, highlighting investor concerns about the scale of AI investments and the prospect of even cash-rich technology companies taking on debt to finance them. 

Nvidia (NVDA): The stock edged 0.4% higher in early premarket trading on Friday after ending Thursday’s regular session 4.4% down. Adding to concerns over Meta’s rising AI spending, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC that “there is a scarcity of capital” for AI infrastructure, adding that “the demand for capital is much greater than the availability.” 

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD): Shares gained nearly 1% in early premarket trading on Friday, recovering some ground after ending Thursday’s session more than 8% lower. Like Meta Platforms and Nvidia, AMD was attempting a rebound after a sharp sell-off in AI-related stocks in the previous session.

CoreWeave (CRWV): The stock was up 2% in premarket trading on Friday after hitting a fresh 17-month low of $53.50 during Thursday’s session. Concerns over mounting debt and broader weakness in the AI sector have weighed on the stock. Despite the premarket gains, CRWV was on track for a third straight week of losses as rising borrowing costs and concerns about slowing AI demand continued to weigh on sentiment.

SK Hynix (SKHY): Shares rose almost 5% in premarket trading on Friday. The stock closed 4.4% higher on Thursday, reversing earlier losses of around 3% after the chipmaker halted its review of potential pre-IPO fundraising and listing options for its U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm. According to CNBC, Josh Gilbert, lead analyst for APAC at investment platform eToro, said the recovery suggested concerns over a potential Solidigm IPO had weighed on investor sentiment.

Trending Stocks

Moderna Inc. (MRNA): Shares fell over 4% in premarket trading on Friday, after Moderna’s cancer-vaccine rally hit a setback on Thursday. MRNA is heading for its worst weekly performance in three months, while Mizuho analyst Jared Holz warned that extreme volatility had made the stock a “do-not-trade” for many investors. On Thursday, the shares plunged nearly 18% to close at $202.63, marking their steepest single-day decline in more than two months.

Western Digital Corp. (WDC): The stock was down around 2% in premarket trading despite the company beating fiscal first-quarter earnings expectations. The hard-drive maker delivered stronger profits and an upbeat second-quarter outlook, addressing concerns that the storage boom was losing momentum. However, the upbeat results failed to lift sentiment.

Bloom Energy Corp. (BE): Bloom Energy Corp. (BE): Shares of the fuel cell maker dropped as much as 2%  in premarket trading on Friday after plunging nearly 9% on Thursday and extending losses overnight. The sell-off followed its third-quarter results, which raised concerns over capital expenditure and cash flow.

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Nokia (NOK), Walmart (WMT) and Charles Schwab (SCHW).

What Else To Watch On Friday

On the economic front, traders will watch for the final University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading.

Meanwhile, American Express Co. (AXP) and Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) are among the companies scheduled to report earnings before the opening bell.

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