Contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were down 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively, paring deeper declines from earlier in the morning. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F), which include fewer tech names, were little changed.
Oracle’s after-hours earnings brought AI spending fears back with a vengeance, killing off the bullish mood that took the S&P 500 (^GSPC) to the cusp of a new record high. The software giant missed on cloud sales and hiked its already aggressive data center spending by $15 billion. Its shares lost more than 10% amid fresh concerns about tech valuations, debt burdens, and the risk that hefty AI investments won’t pay off.
The puts the spotlight on a weekly update on jobless claims on Thursday, while delayed readings on wholesale inventories and trade sales could draw more scrutiny than usual.
Meanwhile, earnings reports continue with Broadcom (AVGO), Costco (COST) and Lululemon (LULU) all set to release results.
LIVE10 updates
Treasurys stall as focus turns to Fed’s upcoming T-bill purchases
Treasurys were steady following the biggest rally in three weeks, as investors got ready for the Federal Reserve to start buying $40 billion of bills per month on Friday.
This week’s Fed meeting shows just how much the next Fed leader matters
Yahoo Finance’s Hamza Shaban observes in today’s Morning Brief newsletter that the anticipation of new Federal Reserve leadership adds another layer of uncertainty to the Fed’s mission next year. He writes:
Gemini Space stock jumps after getting key CFTC sign-off
Gemini Space Station (GEMI) got approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for its application for a derivatives exchange on Wednesday.
That means the Winklevoss-led company could offer a prediction markets platform, a prospect that helped send its shares up over 15% in premarket trading.
Bloomberg reports:
Gemini, co-founded by billionaire twin brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, will soon allow existing US customers to trade event contracts on its website and mobile app, the company said in a blog post.
In a regulatory filing prior to its initial public offering, the firm included prediction markets on “economic, financial, political and sports forecasts” among the list of products it was interested in trading.
… Gemini’s planned derivatives launch will expand the number of crypto-native firms, such as Polymarket, straddling both digital assets and prediction markets. Many firms have expressed interest in the nascent industry, despite legal uncertainty swirling around them due to the growth in sports-related derivatives contracts.
The Magnum Ice Cream Company(MICC) stock rose 5% before the bell on Thursday. A Unilever (UL) spin-off, Magnum Ice cream, made its trading debut on Monday.
Netflix (NFLX) stock rose more than 1% in premarket trading on Thursday. The streaming service is currently involved in a bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) with Paramount Skydance (PSKY), and now President Trump has said that the sale must include CNN.
Marvell (MRVL) stock fell 2% before the bell on Thursday after a report in the Information claimed the chipmaker faced the risk of losing orders to Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon Web Services (AMZN).
Strategy (MSTR) stock fell 2% in premarket trading Thursday. The drop follows bitcoin (BTC-USD)’s decline this morning. Strategy is one of the largest corporate holders of bitcoin.
Oracle woes ruin cross-asset party as traders flock to safety
