Nasdaq futures tumble as AI stocks face renewed selling pressure

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Nasdaq futures tumble

Highlights

Nasdaq futures fall 1.36% as AI financing concerns intensify.
CoreWeave and chipmakers extend losses amid debt worries.
Inflation data could reshape expectations for Fed rate hikes.

Nasdaq-100 futures stood at 29,772.25, down 1.36%, while S&P 500 futures fell 0.34% to 7,743.75. Dow Jones futures rose 0.28% to 52,001, showing a marked divergence between technology shares and the broader market, as concerns over AI financing continued to unsettle investors, CNBC reports.

AI debt concerns spread across technology stocks

CoreWeave remained at the center of the selloff after losing 15% Wednesday as investors questioned its borrowing requirements for data center expansion. Its shares fell another 6.3% in premarket trading, while pressure on corporate bonds pushed borrowing yields higher.

Oracle also weakened, declining 2.1% before the opening bell after dropping nearly 9% in the previous session.

Selling extended to semiconductor companies. Nvidia lost 3%, Micron Technology fell 4.7%, and Advanced Micro Devices declined 2.3%. Sandisk dropped approximately 4%, while U.S.-listed SK Hynix shares slid 11.3%.

The weakness followed a steep decline in South Korean equities, where the Kospi lost more than 7%.

Even strong operating results offered limited reassurance. TSMC reported another record quarterly profit but expressed caution about the 2027 outlook, while Anthropic's reported 45% quarterly revenue growth failed to restore confidence in AI-related investments.

Inflation increases pressure on AI financing

The selloff accelerated after stronger-than-expected September consumer inflation raised expectations of additional Federal Reserve tightening.

Higher interest rates threaten companies relying on debt to finance expensive computing infrastructure. They also reduce the relative appeal of growth stocks whose valuations depend heavily on future earnings.

Traders assigned a 27% probability to an October rate increase, compared with 20% a week earlier. Expectations of a December quarter-point increase reached 67%.

Investors were awaiting September producer prices, retail sales, and weekly jobless claims, all scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET, for further evidence about inflation and economic resilience.

Economic data and earnings will test market confidence

The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 recorded their largest one-day declines since July on Wednesday, leaving the technology sector particularly exposed to another disappointing economic report.

The Nasdaq has retreated more than 3% from its recent record, even as analysts forecast strong corporate earnings. LSEG estimates suggest S&P 500 profits could increase 30.6% in the third quarter, led by technology and energy companies.

The immediate concern is whether those earnings can justify the scale of AI investment. A prolonged slowdown in infrastructure spending could affect chipmakers, cloud providers, and expectations for U.S. economic growth.

Thursday's producer inflation report will therefore carry particular weight. Evidence of persistent price pressures could reinforce expectations of higher borrowing costs, while softer figures may offer some relief to technology stocks.

Earlier, we reported that the global tech selloff deepens amid growing concerns over data center financing.

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