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NextFin News - U.S. equity futures traded lower ahead of the open, with pressure concentrated in technology and AI-linked shares as investors digested a heavy earnings slate and a renewed jump in crude oil. The Nasdaq 100 contract led the decline, while European markets also traded broadly lower.
Pre-Market Performance
- U.S. index futures: Nasdaq 100 futures fell 503.50 points, or 1.68%, to 29,503.50; S&P 500 futures declined 78.25 points, or 1.00%, to 7,722.00; Dow futures lost 305.00 points, or 0.57%, to 52,754.00.
- European equities: The FTSE 100 was down 30.39 points, or 0.28%, at 10,722.49. France's CAC 40 fell 89.95 points, or 1.14%, to 7,831.73, while Germany's DAX declined 198.09 points, or 0.77%, to 25,446.95.
- Commodities: Brent crude rose 3.2% to $112.27 a barrel and WTI crude gained 2.8% to $99.80 after reports of tanker damage in the Strait of Hormuz. Gold futures were softer near $4,109.40 an ounce, down about 0.98%, as elevated yields and a firm dollar continued to cap precious-metals demand.
- Forex: The U.S. dollar index was recently around 101.7, down roughly 0.1%. The dollar weakened to 157.22 yen from 158.14 yen late Wednesday, while the euro was little changed near $1.1231.
Hot News
- Oil shock weighs on global risk appetite: Global shares and U.S. futures retreated after Iran's state television reported that seven oil tankers caught fire and were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz. The move pushed Brent above $112 a barrel and revived concerns that energy inflation could keep pressure on rates and margins.
- Technology-led selling spreads across Asia: Asian markets sold off sharply, with Japan's Nikkei 225 down 2.7%, South Korea's Kospi down 3.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 3.0% and the Shanghai Composite down 1.5%. Chip and AI-related names were hit hardest, including large declines in SoftBank Group, Tokyo Electron, Advantest, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
- AI valuation debate returns to the foreground: The pre-market tone reflected renewed concern over the cost of data-center construction and the financing burden behind AI infrastructure. Higher oil prices and elevated borrowing costs added to the pressure on high-multiple growth stocks, helping explain the Nasdaq futures underperformance.
- Earnings season remains highly stock-specific: Wednesday's post-close results delivered sharp divergence, with Meta, IBM, Texas Instruments, Lam Research and CSX reporting strong operating metrics, while Tesla, Rollins and parts of the consumer and travel complex faced more cautious investor reactions. The broader market response remains selective rather than uniformly bullish.
U.S. Stock Focus
- Meta Platforms — Q3 revenue beats, AI funding plan in focus: Meta said third-quarter earnings would have been $7.40 per share excluding a $9.89 billion charge tied to a state settlement, while daily active users across its family of apps rose 3% year over year to 3.64 billion. The company also approved a new nonvoting Class C share class intended to support capital raising for AI infrastructure, and the stock rose 2.9% after hours.
- Tesla — Profit falls; free cash flow surprises: Tesla reported roughly flat quarterly revenue of about $28 billion, slightly below analyst expectations, while free cash flow reached $1.5 billion despite heavy AI-related investment. Shares fell 3.2% after hours as investors weighed the profit decline, lower 2026 capital-spending outlook and ongoing discussion of a possible SpaceX combination.
- IBM — Software leads revenue growth; free-cash-flow outlook raised: IBM reported third-quarter revenue of $17.1 billion, up 5% as reported and 6% at constant currency, with software revenue up 8%. The company posted non-GAAP EPS of $2.95 and now expects full-year free cash flow to increase by more than $1 billion year over year.
- Lam Research — Record quarter on AI-driven chip demand: Lam Research reported September-quarter revenue of $8.22 billion, GAAP gross margin of 52.3%, operating margin of 40.0% and diluted EPS of $2.19. Management guided December-quarter revenue to $8.60 billion, plus or minus $400 million, citing AI-driven semiconductor demand and greater device complexity.
- Texas Instruments — Broad-based growth across industrial, auto and data center: Texas Instruments reported third-quarter revenue of $6.06 billion, net income of $2.43 billion and EPS of $2.62. Revenue rose 28% year over year, and the company guided fourth-quarter revenue to a range of $5.80 billion to $6.30 billion with EPS of $2.45 to $2.79.
- Las Vegas Sands — Buybacks and dividend increase accompany Q3 results: Las Vegas Sands reported third-quarter net revenue of $3.22 billion, net income of $352 million and diluted EPS of $0.48. The company repurchased $950 million of common stock during the quarter and announced a 20% increase in its recurring annual dividend for calendar 2027 to $1.44 per share.
- CSX — Record revenue and margin expansion: CSX reported record quarterly revenue of $4.02 billion, up 12% year over year, with diluted EPS of $0.57, up 54%. Operating income rose to $1.57 billion and operating margin expanded 880 basis points to 39.1%, supported by higher volume, pricing and fuel-surcharge revenue.
- Rollins — Revenue grows, but margins compress: Rollins reported third-quarter revenue of $1.09 billion, up 6.2% year over year, while organic revenue increased 4.4%. EPS declined 2.9% to $0.33 as operating margin fell 140 basis points to 20.5%, with management citing pressure in residential customer acquisition and a changing digital marketing landscape.
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