\n<\/p>\n
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Friday, with stocks likely to see further downside following the sell-off seen during Thursday’s session.<\/p>\n
The major index futures are currently pointing to continued weakness on Wall Street in early trading on Friday, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.4 percent.<\/p>\n
Lingering concerns about the artificial intelligence trade are likely to weigh on the markets<\/span> along with a continued increase in the price of crude oil.<\/p>\n U.S. crude oil futures have jumped back above $100 a barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude oil futures have reached a five-month high amid ongoing worries about supply disruptions in the Middle East.<\/p>\n However, traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of several key events next week, including the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting.<\/p>\n The Fed is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to leave rates unchanged.<\/p>\n With a quarter point rate hike still widely expected at the Fed’s December meeting, traders are likely to keep a close eye on the accompanying statement.<\/p>\n Earnings news is also likely to remain in the spotlight next week, with Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) among the companies due to report their quarterly results.<\/p>\n “A combination of measured central bank guidance and strong technology<\/span> results could support a recovery in risk appetite, while hawkish policy signals and disappointing earnings could trigger another round of selling,” said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.<\/p>\n “With U.S. GDP and PCE inflation also due, investors will have plenty of reasons to reassess interest rate expectations,” she added. “The upcoming U.S. midterm elections on November 3 add another layer of uncertainty, suggesting volatility could remain elevated as markets head into November.”<\/p>\n After trending higher over the past few sessions, stocks showed a substantial move back to the downside during trading on Thursday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way lower, tumbling to its lowest closing level in over a month.<\/p>\n The Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq plunged 694.00 points or 2.6 percent to 26,008.86 and the S&P 500 slumped 93.74 points or 1.2 percent to 7,663.43.<\/p>\n The narrower Dow, on the other hand, spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing up 11.89 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 52,867.98.<\/p>\n The sharp pullback on Wall Street came as tech stocks came under pressure amid renewed concerns about debt-fueled AI infrastructure spending.<\/p>\n Traders’ level of concern about the artificial intelligence trade seems to shift on a daily basis, contributing to substantial volatility in the markets.<\/p>\n The latest resurgence of worries may be in reaction to comments from Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang, who told CNBC that demand for neocloud firms like CoreWeave (CRWV) is “off the charts” but “scarcity of capital” is holding back growth.<\/p>\n A steep drop by shares of Meta Platforms (META) also weighed on the tech sector, with the Facebook parent plunging by 7.1 percent despite reporting third quarter revenues that exceeded estimates and providing upbeat guidance.<\/p>\n “Once people got their heads around the fact Meta needs to raise large sums to sustain its participation in the AI arms race, they lost their initial enthusiasm for the better-than-expected revenue posted by the company and the rapid take-up of its Muse AI agent,” said AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson.<\/p>\n Shares of Tesla (TSLA) also tumbled by 3.4 percent after surging by 3.8 percent on Wednesday even though the electronic vehicle maker reported better than expected third quarter results.<\/p>\n The weakness on Wall Street also came amid a notable increase in the price of crude oil, as U.S. crude oil futures jumped more than 2 percent.<\/p>\n U.S. crude oil futures had spiked even higher earlier in the day after President Donald Trump denied the U.S. is negotiating with Iran and said “something one way or the other” will “happen fairly soon.”<\/p>\n A report from the New York Times also said the U.S. and Israel have drawn up specific plans for renewed strikes on Iran after Election Day.<\/p>\n Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market’s worst performances on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plummeting by 6.7 percent to its lowest closing level in almost three months.<\/p>\n A steep drop by the price of gold also contributed to substantial weakness among gold stocks, as reflected by the 5.4 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.<\/p>\n Oil service stocks also saw significant weakness despite the jump in crude oil prices, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 3.7 percent.<\/p>\n Networking and computer hardware stocks also showed notable moves to the downside, while housing stocks soared amid a steep drop in treasury yields, resulting in a 4.6 percent spike by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.<\/p>\n Interest rate-sensitive telecom and utilities stocks also saw considerable strength, while pharmaceutical and transportation stocks benefited from a rotation out of the tech sector.<\/p>\n Commodity, Currency Markets<\/b> <\/p>\n Crude oil futures are jumping $1.79 to $101.26 a barrel after surging $2.32 to $99.47 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after slumping $89.60 to $4,060.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $18.60 to $4,041.80 an ounce.<\/p>\n On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.58 yen versus the 156.76 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1198 compared to yesterday’s $1.1214.<\/p>\n Asia<\/b><\/p>\n Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday due to concerns over technology valuations and escalating Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n As doubts deepen over the ability of AI companies to fund their massive infrastructure spending, investors now await earnings from Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet for further direction.<\/p>\n Amid inflation and rate-hike concerns, investors also await cues from a slew of upcoming central bank meetings, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan.<\/p>\n Gold was subdued at $4,017 an ounce in Asian trading after falling nearly 3 percent in the previous session to reach its lowest level since July 20 amid escalating Middle East hostilities.<\/p>\n Brent crude prices rose toward $114 a barrel, heading for a third weekly gain and reaching the highest level in over five months as intensifying attacks on Saudi Arabia raised the risk of wider Middle East supply disruptions.<\/p>\n China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 0.9 percent to 3,690.48 after sliding into bear territory on economic concerns and doubts whether the country’s much-hyped AI sector can justify lofty valuations.<\/p>\n Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.7 percent to 23,093.37. Taiwan’s stock market was closed due to a typhoon.<\/p>\n Japanese markets ended lower on concerns over AI valuations. The Nikkei 225 Index slipped 0.3 percent to 62,693.16, ending off its day’s lows after government bonds rallied, pushing yields lower across maturities.<\/p>\n The broader Topix Index settled 0.8 percent lower at 3,965.81. The yen touched its highest level in more than a month as traders sought safety amid a global equity sell-off.<\/p>\n Investors also digested data that showed Japanese core consumer inflation exceeded the central bank’s 2 percent target in September for the first time in nine months.<\/p>\n Seoul stocks ended slightly higher, recovering from an early slide as investors hunted for bargains at lower levels.<\/p>\n The Kospi Index edged up 0.3 percent to 5,550.30 after plummeting more than 3 percent in the previous session on persisting concerns over investments in the artificial intelligence (AI) value chain.<\/p>\n Chipmaker SK Hynix soared 4.4 percent, recovering early losses after announcing it had decided to suspend plans to list its U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm.<\/p>\n Australian markets ended on a flat note as financials and consumer discretionary stocks gained ground, offsetting losses in resource stocks.<\/p>\n The Aussie dollar was steady as traders raised their bets on an RBA rate hike following hawkish remarks from deputy governor Andrew Hauser.<\/p>\n Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P\/NZX-50 Index finished marginally lower at 13,733.93 after Meta Platforms disclosed a new class of non-voting shares to help fund rising AI costs.<\/p>\n Europe<\/b><\/p>\n European stocks have moved mostly lower on Friday and headed for a weekly loss amid renewed concerns about France’s finances, continued Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia, and doubts over whether hyperscalers’ massive AI investments will yield adequate returns.<\/p>\n German government bond yields dropped to nearly two-month lows as investors sought the safety of core European debt amid lingering civil unrest in France.<\/p>\n The euro hit a fresh 17-month low against the British pound after Eurozone PMIs highlighted a moderate slowdown.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, U.K. retail sales decreased 0.4 percent in September, reversing a rise of 0.7 percent in August, as warm weather weighed on clothing and supermarket sales, official data showed. That exceeded economists’ forecast of a 0.1 percent dip.<\/p>\n Separate survey data from market research group GfK showed that U.K. consumer confidence registered its sharpest fall in October since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020. The consumer sentiment index declined 11 points to -24 in October.<\/p>\n The German DAX Index is down by 1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.9 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.6 percent.<\/p>\n Shares of Volvo Car have nosedived. After reporting a devasting third-quarter loss, the automaker said it would cut another 2,500 jobs, or around 6 percent of its workforce.<\/p>\n Security services company Securitas has also plunged after falling short of margin expectations in the third quarter.<\/p>\n French jet engine maker Safran has also shown a substantial move to the downside on concerns about slowing aftermarket growth.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Signify shares have soared after the Dutch lighting company beat third-quarter core profit expectations.<\/p>\n Home appliance manufacturer Electrolux has also moved sharply higher its after third-quarter core profit topped expectations.<\/p>\n Catering and food services group Sodexo has also surged after reporting stronger-than-expected full-year revenue.<\/p>\n Italian energy company Eni has also rallied. The company announced a special dividend and increased the size of its share buyback program after reporting solid third-quarter results.<\/p>\n Holcim shares have also jumped. The Swiss cement maker raised its full-year earnings forecast following stronger third-quarter results.<\/p>\n Hexagon has also advanced. The Swedish industrial technology group reported an unexpected rise in its quarterly operating profit, driven by increased net sales, lower expenses, and positive fair value change on equity investments.<\/p>\n U.S. Economic News<\/b><\/p>\n The University of Michigan is scheduled to release its revised reading on consumer sentiment in the month of October at 10 am ET. The consumer sentiment index for October is expected to be unrevised from the preliminary reading of 46.3, which was down from 48.1 in September. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n