Stock futures were mostly lower early Friday as investors continued to contend with several concerns, including geopolitical risks and tech sector weakness.
Futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.2%. Continued weakness among the Magnificent 7 group of stocks contributed to the decline, with Apple the only member rising ahead of the open. Nvidia fell 1%, while Meta Platforms and Alphabet were both around 0.5% down.
The Dow jumped 1.1%, or 462 points, Thursday, while the S&P 500 notched its fourth consecutive daily gain with a rise of 0.5%. It wasn’t an entirely straightforward day as the initial reaction to Nvidia’s quarterly earnings made gains harder to come by earlier in the session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite only closed marginally higher.
The S&P 500’s gain Thursday was particularly notable given the performance of some of the Magnificent 7 stocks. Alphabet tumbled 4.7% after the Justice Department said Google should be forced to sell its Chrome web browser. Amazon.com stock fell 2.2%, Tesla slipped 0.7% and Microsoft was 0.4% down. But it looked less likely that the broader market would offset tech’s struggles Friday.
Geopolitical risks relating to Russia’s war with Ukraine are also in focus. Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile targeting the city of Dnipro early Thursday, after Ukraine launched long-range missiles into Russia earlier in the week.
Vladimir Putin updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine earlier this week, which spooked investors Tuesday. But for now, the market appears undeterred by the conflict.