Nasdaq 100 futures declined on Thursday as shares of Google parent Alphabet experienced a sell-off, while investors braced for another active day of earnings reports. Nasdaq futures experienced a decline of 1.1% in recent trading, whereas S&P 500 futures decreased by 0.3%. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a decline of 0.3%, primarily influenced by a 9% drop in premarket shares of Caterpillar. Yesterday, the benchmark S&P 500, tech-focused Nasdaq Composite, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average concluded the trading session with modest gains following the Federal Reserve’s decision, which was approved by a 10-2 vote, to maintain the current interest rates, aligning with market expectations. Traders currently perceive an 84% probability that the Federal Reserve will increase rates by a minimum of a quarter-percentage point during its December meeting, according to CME FedWatch.
Technology stocks, which had propelled all three major U.S. stock indexes to gains in the initial three sessions of this week following Claude maker Anthropic’s filing of its go-public paperwork on Monday, are predominantly experiencing a sell-off on Thursday. Shares of Alphabet, which reported disappointing results late yesterday, pointed 11% lower before the opening bell. Those of fellow Magnificent Seven mega-cap tech stock Microsoft were up 1.5% after cloud demand drove strong results. The Roundhill “MAGS” ETF, which tracks the septet, was nearly 1.5% lower in premarket trading. Amazon, which is set to report results Thursday afternoon, was down almost 2% before the bell. Memory and other AI-related stocks indicated a downward trend following significant increases during the initial three trading days of the week. Roundhill’s Memory ETF was down 3.5% after a 7% increase yesterday.
A significant component, Samsung Electronics, experienced a 4% decline in South Korean trading today. The broader iShares Semiconductor ETF was down 2%. Shares of SOXX component Marvell Technology dropped 11% following a report that the semiconductor maker is in advanced talks to acquire optical products maker Lumentum Holdings. Lumentum shares experienced a notable increase of 5.5%. In the aftermath of earnings announcements, Chipotle Mexican Grill experienced a notable increase of 7%, eBay saw a rise of 6%, Eli Lilly added 4.5%, Shell advanced by 3.5%, and Merck gained 2.5%. ServiceNow plunged 19%. Intel is among those slated to report after the closing bell. DoorDash shares gained 5% on news it was buying food-delivery rival Instacart for $17 billion in cash and stock. Shares of Instacart-officially Maplebear-exhibited minimal fluctuations.
Oil prices experienced a decline following a report indicating that Vise President JD Vance had communicated with Iranian Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei in an effort to revive peace negotiations. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude futures experienced a decline of 0.9%, settling at $102 per barrel. Front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, declined by 0.8% to $114.40. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at approximately 5.03%, reflecting an increase of one basis point from late Wednesday. Bitcoin was trading around 80,100, down from overnight highs around 81,700. The U.S. dollar index, which monitors the value of the greenback against a selection of foreign currencies, was approximately unchanged at 102.16. Gold futures declined by 0.3%, settling at $4,040 per ounce.
