US stock futures pointed to another divided session on Thursday as the sell-off in AI-linked shares deepened ahead of a heavy slate of economic data.
Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1.26% and S&P 500 futures fell 0.35%, while Dow futures gained 0.39%.
Nvidia, AMD and Micron were lower before the bell as investors questioned the increasingly expensive financing behind the AI infrastructure boom.
The pressure follows Wednesday’s 1.9% Nasdaq decline after hotter inflation revived Fed-hike fears. Producer prices, retail sales and jobless claims now offer the next test.
5 things to know before Wall Street opens
1. AI selling spreads from Wall Street to Asia
Nvidia fell 1.3% premarket, AMD lost 1.9% and Micron dropped 4%. CoreWeave slipped another 4.5% after Wednesday’s 15% fall, while Oracle declined 2%.
The stress has spread into credit markets. CoreWeave bonds yielding more than 15% have intensified concern that debt-heavy AI infrastructure companies may struggle to finance expansion at acceptable returns.
Asia amplified the warning overnight: the KOSPI plunged almost 8%, while the Nikkei 225 fell about 5%.
2. PPI and retail sales could reshape Fed expectations
Thursday’s 8:30 am ET data dump includes September PPI, retail sales, weekly jobless claims and regional manufacturing surveys.
Economists expect headline PPI to rise 0.6% month on month and core PPI 0.3%.
Fifth Third economist Bill Adams said in a note carried by MarketWatch that another strong wholesale-inflation reading could tip the balance towards an October Fed increase, particularly as elevated energy costs threaten to keep price pressures persistent.
3. TSMC posts a record, but investors still want reassurance
TSMC reported record third-quarter net profit of NT$763.1 billion, up 69% and above the NT$746.3 billion LSEG SmartEstimate.
It expects fourth-quarter revenue of $52.3 billion to $54.3 billion and sees 2026 sales growth of about 44%.
Yet management is planning cautiously for 2027 because of macroeconomic uncertainty and weakness in price-sensitive consumer markets.
4. Charles Schwab leads Thursday’s financial earnings
Charles Schwab joins BNY, US Bancorp and PNC in the next financial-sector earnings wave.
FactSet expects Schwab to report adjusted earnings of $1.65 a share on $7.18 billion of revenue, up from $1.31 and $6.13 billion a year earlier.
Investors will focus particularly on asset gathering, deposits and trading activity after Schwab reported record August core net new assets.
5. Brent’s 2% fall gives inflation-sensitive stocks some breathing room
Brent crude fell about 2% to $103.80 as traders weighed potential US sanctions relief against continuing attacks around the Strait of Hormuz.
The decline matters after Wednesday’s CPI shock because cheaper energy could eventually ease headline inflation pressure.