Futures Pointing To Extended Rebound From Yesterday’s Initial Slump

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to move to the upside after ending the previous session mostly lower but well off their worst levels.

The upward momentum on Wall Street comes amid an extended rebound by shares of Nvidia (NVDA), as the AI leader is jumping by more than 2 percent in pre-market trading.

Shares of Nvidia recovered from an initial nosedive but still tumbled by more than 4 percent on Thursday following news CFO Colette Kress will service as interim CEO following the resignation of Jensen Huang.

The futures saw further upside following the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of October.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose by 0.3 percent in October after surging by an upwardly revised 1.4 percent in September.

Economists had expected producer prices to climb by 0.4 percent compared to the 1.3 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth accelerated to 6.5 percent in October from 6.3 percent.

Producer prices grew at the fastest annual rate since soaring by 7.4 percent in November 2022, although the pace of growth came in slightly below the 6.6 percent spike economists had expected.

Stocks recovered from an initial slump but moved back to the downside over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages all finished the day in negative territory, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 partly offsetting Wednesday’s strong gains.

After plunging by as much as 1.6 percent in early trading, the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 100.09 points or 0.4 percent to 25,366.09. The S&P 500 also fell 26.98 points or 0.4 percent to 7,592.40, while the Dow declined 189.40 points or 0.4 percent to 52,297.09.

A steep drop by shares of Nvidia (NVDA) initially weighed on Wall Street, with the AI leader plummeting by as much as 14.4 percent to its lowest intraday level in well over a year.

The nosedive by Nvidia came as the company’s Board of Directors announced the resignation of embattled CEO Jensen Huang.

Nvidia said its current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has agreed to serve as interim CEO.

Shares of Nvidia regained ground over the course of the trading session but still ended the day down by 4.3 percent.

The latest developments come after a report from the New York Times said Huang had a relationship with Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare Kimberly Powell. Huang was already under pressure over his affair with an alleged Chinese spy.

While selling pressure waned over the course of the session, buying interest remained subdued amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil.

Crude oil futures surged by 2.6 percent after President Donald Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. does not need to make a deal with Iran.

“Those days have long since passed,” Trump said. “We’ve got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we’ve got their Strait!”

Trump’s latest remarks come after he previously said renewed attacks again Iran were “highly unlikely” as long as negotiations continue to make progress.

Airline stocks moved sharply lower amid the surge by the price of crude oil, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index plunging by 5.2 percent.

Substantial weakness was also visible among gold stocks due to a steep drop in the price of the precious metal, as reflected by the 4.1 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

Telecom stocks also showed a significant move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index down by 2.2 percent.

Housing, brokerage, computer hardware and biotechnology stocks also saw notable weakness, while oil stocks moved sharply higher along with the price of crude oil.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are falling $0.45 to $88.29 a barrel after surging $2.21 to $88.74 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after plummeting $115.20 to $3,885.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $16.10 to $3,901.40 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.89 yen versus the 159.85 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1060 compared to yesterday’s $1.1053.

Asia

Asian stocks gave up early gains to end mostly lower on Friday, with concerns about Nvidia’s leadership turmoil and increased expectations for tighter Federal Reserve policy keeping investors on edge.

A spike in oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields fueled inflation concerns after U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed the prospects of a comprehensive diplomatic solution with Iran, halted the negotiation process that Vice President Vance was advancing, and instead accepted a stalemate characterized by “no war, no talks.”

Trump also indicated he may use military force against Iran if U.S. allies and ships are threatened.

The U.S. dollar rose to its highest level in about 19 months as Treasury yields climbed significantly on inflation concerns and hawkish Fed signals.

Investors will scrutinize the U.S. October PPI inflation report later in the day for additional clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate trajectory.

Gold prices rose half a percent toward $3,900 an ounce in a likely technical rebound after falling for three straight sessions to the lowest level in more than a year.

Brent crude prices traded higher above $96 a barrel as Middle East supply risks offset signs of rising crude output. Iranian officials reported an attack on Sirik in Hormozgan province amid the conflict with the U.S.

Four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the Strait of Hormuz after the vessels ignored warnings and entered what Iran’s military considers restricted areas of the strategic waterway.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.6 percent lower at 3,634.35 after reports emerged that OpenAI is backing a bipartisan effort in U.S. Congress to curb China’s access to advanced AI chips and chipmaking tools.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.6 percent to 23,637.60 Alibaba Group Holding shares fell 3.5 percent after a chip spin-off update.

Japanese markets eked out modest gains as the yen weakened past 160 per dollar for the first time since September, prompting authorities to warn of possible currency market intervention.

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.5 percent to 61,142.35 and logged its best weekly gain in five months, lifted by buying in AI and semiconductor-related shares. Advantest and Tokyo Electron rose around 2 percent each. The broader Topix Index settled 0.1 percent higher at 3,941.57.

Seoul stocks erased earlier gains to end sharply lower as investors assessed the potential impact of the departure of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem. The Kospi Index slumped 1 percent to 5,290.53.

Australian markets closed lower on concerns over rising U.S. bond yields. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.7 percent to 9,082.20, dragged down by banks and mining stocks. The broader All Ordinaries Index closed down 0.8 percent at 9,204.50.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index fell 0.6 percent to 14,173.68 after Jensen Huang’s departure from Nvidia plunged the AI industry into unchartered territory.

Europe

European shares have pulled back from record highs on Friday amid uncertainty over the outlook for the AI trade and growing expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike in December. Brent crude futures traded above $96 a barrel, rekindling inflation concerns.

German wholesale prices increased at the fastest pace in more than three years in October due to elevated energy prices, data released by Destatis showed.

Wholesale prices climbed 8.8 percent on a yearly basis in October, marking the strongest rise since February 2023. This followed September’s 8.7 percent increase.

The pan-European STOXX 600 Index is down by 0.1 percent after finishing marginally higher on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent, while the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 0.1 percent.

In corporate news, Compagnie Financiere Richemont shares have plummeted. The Swiss luxury powerhouse said second quarter revenue growth slowed to 13 percent at constant rates from 20 percent in the first quarter.

Ams OSRAM has also plunged. The Austrian-German semiconductor and lighting group forecast fourth-quarter revenue and core profit below analyst expectations.

German real estate investment company Deutsche EuroShop has also dropped as it reported modest growth in revenue and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in the first nine months of the year.

Italy’s top insurer Generali has also declined after announcing a €1.5 billion hit from natural catastrophes in its nine-month results.

On the other hand, British insurer Aviva has shown a strong move to the upside after a robust third quarter 2026 trading update.

U.K. property group Land Securities has also risen after posting higher fiscal first-half attributable profit and revenue.

U.S. Economic News

A report released by the Labor Department on Friday showed producer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of October.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose by 0.3 percent in October after surging by an upwardly revised 1.4 percent in September.

Economists had expected producer prices to climb by 0.4 percent compared to the 1.3 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth accelerated to 6.5 percent in October from 6.3 percent.

Producer prices grew at the fastest annual rate since soaring by 7.4 percent in November 2022, although the pace of growth came in slightly below the 6.6 percent spike economists had expected.

At 9:10 am ET, Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins is due to deliver opening remarks before the “Residential Realities: Understanding Challenges and Considering Solutions in the U.S. Housing Market” 70th Economic Conference

Dalles Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan is scheduled to deliver opening remarks before the Bank Funding Conference 2026: “Bank Funding in the Age of Instant Finance” at 9:40 am ET.

At 10:50 am ET, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman is due to participate in a discussion on “Supervision and Regulation” at the Connecticut Bankers Association Annual Meeting and Conference 2026.

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly is scheduled to participate in a moderated discussion before a University of Nevada, Las Vegas Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) Forecast event at 12 pm ET.

At 7 pm ET, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson is due to speak on “New Technology, Old Questions: Assessing Productivity Puzzles and Their Implications for Macroeconomic Activity” before the University of California San Diego Economics Roundtable.