Nasdaq, Dow, S&P 500 Futures Rise After 4-Day Market Slide As CPI Looms Large: ORCL, ADBE, MU, TSLA, RKLB, IBRX, HOOD, GME In Focus

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits turned bearish on SPY and QQQ ahead of August CPI.

• U.S. stock futures edged higher Friday after Wall Street logged four straight sessions of losses.
• Following a hotter-than-expected PPI reading of 5.4% YoY, 10-year Treasury yields touched 4.9%.
• Markets price in roughly a 67% chance of a 25-basis-point Fed rate hike at next week’s FOMC meeting.

U.S. stock futures were higher early Friday after Wall Street suffered a fourth straight session of losses. Investors await crucial CPI data later today and the upcoming FOMC rate decision next week. 

As of 4:00 a.m. ET, Nasdaq, Dow, S&P 500 and Russell 2000 futures rose 0.3%. However, on Stocktwits, retail investors are treading cautiously ahead of a crucial inflation data drop. Retail sentiment for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, has flipped to ‘bearish’. 

CPI Data Takes Center Stage

Friday’s August CPI report arrives after a hotter-than-expected PPI reading on Thursday. Producer prices rose 0.4% month-over-month in August and 5.4% from a year earlier, with headline inflation running well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Economists expect headline CPI to rise 0.4% month-over-month and 3.4% year-over-year in August, while core CPI is forecast to increase 0.2% from July and 2.4% from a year earlier. 

Meanwhile, initial jobless claims came in at a steady 206K. According to the CME FedWatch, traders are now pricing in a 67% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike at the upcoming FOMC meeting scheduled for Sept. 15-16.

Riding the inflation wave, government bond yields soared to multi-year highs despite the U.S. Treasury tripling its upcoming debt buyback plan to $6 billion. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield touched 4.9%, while the 30-year yield reached 5.3%.

The Crude Oil Risk

Oil prices surged above $109 per barrel on Thursday amid elevated Middle East friction, though Brent crude dipped slightly and WTI traded at $102 in early morning action. 

On the diplomatic front, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir reportedly discussed efforts to de-escalate U.S.-Iran conflict risks and address regional security. Reports also suggest that Gulf states are mulling a round of talks with Iran next week to discuss restoring traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Tech Stocks To Watch 

Nvidia (NVDA): CEO Jensen Huang dismissed recent AI safety/doomsday warnings as “outlandish”. He also identified cybersecurity as a potentially major next market for AI. Nvidia and Palantir are also expanding their AI partnership around sovereign AI and supply-chain applications.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR): A D.A. Davidson analyst said Palantir’s 5-year profit growth trajectory positions it as a structural winner, regardless of whether the market is in an AI bubble.

Microsoft (MSFT): Shares were under mild pressure in early premarket trade as reports indicate plans to triple its global data center capacity to 38 GW by 2032.

Meta Platforms (META): Shares rose 0.1% in early premarket trade following its quarterly dividend announcement. 

Oracle Corp. (ORCL): Shares rose 5% in early premarket after reporting a strong fiscal first quarter. The company expects around half of its RPO to convert into revenue over the next 36 months and maintained its $90 billion-$95 billion full-year capital-expenditure forecast.

Adobe Inc. (ADBE): Shares dipped over 2% in early premarket despite beating Q3 earnings with $6.8B in revenue and crossing 1 billion monthly active users, as investors digested a softer Q4 revenue outlook.

Micron Technology (MU): Shares rose nearly 1% in early premarket trade after announcing record fiscal 2026 employee bonuses in Taiwan equal to 35–68 months of pay following what the chipmaker cited as an “extraordinary” operational year.

Trending Stocks

Tesla (TSLA): The EV maker showcased its Cybercab in Japan for the first time, without providing a timeline for a commercial launch. The company is also rolling out a high-performance Model Y in China. 

Rocket Lab USA (RKLB): Successfully completed its 16th Electron mission of the year. Separately, CEO Peter Beck cautioned in a podcast interview that “piping hot” valuations in AI and space trades could face volatility.

Robinhood Markets (HOOD): Retail investors are actively eyeing a “load up” opportunity despite a 2% dip in early premarket trade. They highlighted strong August operating metrics, including 28.6 million funded customers and $383.7B in total platform assets.

GameStop Corp. (GME): Shares rose over 3% in early premarket after a Form 4 and 13D filing revealed Chairman and CEO Ryan Cohen bought 1 million shares in the open market for nearly $20.4 million, raising his beneficial stake to 8.5%.

ImmunityBio (IBRX): Investors are watching a new patent filing for its lung cancer treatment, Anktiva, ahead of major upcoming medical conferences in Seoul and New York.

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Trump Media (DJT), Figma (FIG), Venture Global (VG), and Celsius Holdings (CELH).

What Else To Watch Friday

On the economic front, investors will watch the release of CPI inflation data at 8:30 am. The preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment report and inflation expectations at 10 a.m. ET will provide another read on how households are responding to elevated prices and gasoline costs.

On the earnings front, Kroger Co. (KR), MoneyHero Ltd (MNY), and Rent the Runway Inc (RENT) report today. 

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