U.S. stock futures were higher in early trade on Friday, cautiously noting that technology stocks are rebounding from heavy losses as Wall Street reassesses concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence disruption and the risks of big spending by Big Tech companies.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) rose 0.5% and Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) rose 0.7%, recouping early pre-market losses. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) also shifted, rising 0.4%, following Thursday’s sharply lower close on Wall Street.
The tentative risk tone extended beyond the stock market as Bitcoin (BTC-USD) climbed back above $65,000 after hitting a 16-month low overnight. But the largest cryptocurrency is still on track for its worst weekly performance since 2022 after wiping out all of its post-Trump election gains this week.
Strategy (MSTR) revealed that the quarter’s losses were due to a sharp sell-off that initially weighed on the share price. But the stock rose nearly 6% in premarket as Bitcoin recovered and Strategy’s CEO downplayed concerns about debt repayment risks.
The gloom persisted for technology stocks, with Amazon (AMZN) shares down 8%. In its earnings report, the major cloud provider outlined plans to significantly increase spending to at least $200 billion by 2026, even as its operating income forecast fell short of expectations.
Stellantis (STLA, STLAM.MI), on the other hand, warned it would spend more than 22 billion euros ($26 billion) scaling back its plans to promote electric vehicles. The Jeep maker’s shares fell more than 20% on Wall Street and in Milan, adding to the EV malaise painted by Chinese automaker BYD’s (1211.HK) $60 billion loss this week.
In commodities, silver (SI=F) was volatile but broadly resumed its losses as the sell-off ahead of China’s National Day holiday continues.
Looking ahead, the closely watched January jobs report, originally scheduled for Friday, has been postponed to next Wednesday. There were new signs of trouble in the labor market this week, with job vacancies falling to their lowest level since 2020 and layoff announcements surging.
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