Nasdaq 100 futures fell as chip earnings and fresh political headwinds hit the technology sector.
Chip Earnings Pressure Tech Sector
Arm Holdings and Qualcomm shares dropped about 3% in after-hours trading following results that left investors uneasy, according to Coincentral. Arm reported revenue and profit guidance for the current quarter that missed expectations, while Qualcomm missed targets for handset revenue in the September quarter.
The tech selloff spread globally, with chipmakers in Asia posting deep losses. South Korea’s Kospi dropped over 6% in its worst day since 2025 after a 20-minute trading halt, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 approached correction territory, Morningstar reported.
Major indexes also fell in Hong Kong and Shanghai as the previous day’s brutal market selloff in the United States reverberated across international markets. Amid the broader rout, Asian indexes found some footing as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, posted gains.
In the United States, futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average led early gains by adding 0.76%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.34% and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed about 0.5%. Friday trading partially rebounded from a severe artificial-intelligence-driven selloff on Thursday, during which the Nasdaq index lost $2.5 trillion in market value in its worst single day since April 2025.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite subsequently bounced 1.09% to settle at 24,579.42, and the broad-market S&P 500 rose 0.31% to finish at 7,376.86. The blue-chip Dow, however, dropped 237.33 points, or 0.46%, to close at 51,285.73 as broader investor sentiment remained cautious following a batch of stronger-than-expected jobs data.
Data center stocks gave back a big chunk of today's 6-18% gains overnight as election results came in and Democrats were projected to win more governor races.$CIFR -7.5%$WULF -6.3%$IREN -5.9%$CRWV -5.5%$APLD -4.8%$NBIS -4.7%$CORZ -4.6%$HUT -3.6%$HIVE -1.7% pic.twitter.com/l7Wo0ylNMC
Democratic Sweep Sparks Regulation Fears
Data center stocks fell across the globe as investors reassessed the artificial intelligence trade following a Democratic sweep in the U.S. midterm elections. Markets braced for tighter regulations on data center construction, energy use, and development costs under a Democratic Congress, CNBC reported.
The tech sector also focused on a bombshell announcement that Nvidia’s board of directors opened an investigation into co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with a businesswoman whom U.S. intelligence agencies say is a Chinese spy. A proxy for Nvidia shares subsequently traded lower by 2% over a 24-hour period on Hyperliquid.
Among digital infrastructure firms, Coincentral noted overnight drops for Cipher Mining down 7.5%, Hut 8 down 3.6%, and Core Scientific down 4.6% as election outcomes became clear. Treasury yields declined alongside oil prices as markets watched for potential government gridlock, given that a Democratic Congress must work alongside a Republican White House while the president signaled plans to veto Democrat-backed legislation.
Retail Investors Sell Heavily as Indexes Become Oversold
Thursday marked the largest day of retail selling since the Covid pandemic, according to Vanda Research data cited by CNBC. Liz Ann Sonders, Schwab Center for Financial Research chief investment strategist, noted that the Nasdaq and Nasdaq-100 indexes became oversold amid heavy de-risking by traders, and retail investors have not stepped in to buy the dip as they have previously.
You saw a really heavy amount of net selling … we may not fully be washed out yet, but we’ll have to see whether that retail trader at some point decides to step back in.
Liz Ann Sonders, Schwab Center for Financial Research chief investment strategist
Sonders suggested that the immediate short-term focus for market participants should center on corporate adjustments to capital expenditure plans and expectations for future profit margins. This week, investors are looking ahead to key AI-related corporate earnings reports from companies including CoreWeave, Cisco, Applied Materials, Take-Two Interactive Software, Occidental Petroleum, KKR, Constellation Energy, Skydance.
Oil Prices and Macro Data Awaited
Brent crude fell to $94 per barrel and U.S. benchmark WTI dropped to $88 amid hopes for an Iran deal, Coincentral reported. Benchmark Brent crude oil contracts later traded 1.5% lower at $95.90 a barrel, further easing pressure on Treasury yields. Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that The reason we lost [the midterm elections] is the war,
suggesting his party should push for a resolution.
Thirty-year Treasury yields hovered around 5.260%, with jobs data expected to influence the market. Meanwhile, investors in Asia assessed October inflation data out of China, where the producer price index hit its highest level in over four years at 5.7% while consumer inflation came in slower than expected at 0.7%. In other commodities, New York gold contracts fell back below $4,100 a troy ounce, while Bitcoin inched above $76,500.
Earlier coverage: US Stock Futures Rise as Investors Await Inflation Data and AI Earnings
