- Wall Street futures showed mixed trends amid AI stock declines and easing oil prices
- AI-linked stocks fell on investor concerns over returns and rising borrowing costs
- Tesla shares rose 3% after unveiling a redesigned Roadster with SpaceX technology
Wall Street futures showed little direction on Friday as renewed selling in artificial intelligence-linked stocks offset support from Tesla and easing oil prices.
The contrasting moves left the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on course for weekly losses, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained positioned to finish higher.
At 7:20 a.m. GMT, Dow futures were down 20 points, or 0.04%, S&P 500 futures were up 0.14%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had slipped 0.23%..
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The mixed opening signals followed a volatile week dominated by concerns over AI investment costs, inflation and interest-rate uncertainty.
AI Stocks Remain Under Pressure
Investors are increasingly questioning whether companies investing heavily in AI infrastructure can generate sufficient returns to cover rising borrowing costs.
Mounting debt concerns have particularly affected data-centre operators and semiconductor companies.
Nvidia-backed CoreWeave fell 5.2% in premarket trading, while cloud infrastructure providers Nebius Group and Iren dropped more than 2.8% each.
Micron Technology declined 2.3%, and Intel lost 1.69%. Investors were also reassessing Anthropic's valuation amid concerns about AI financing costs and reports of weaker-than-expected revenue growth.
Tesla provided a counterpoint, rising 3% before the opening bell after unveiling a redesigned Roadster developed with SpaceX technology.
SpaceX shares advanced 1.2%. Elsewhere, Travelers fell 4% following its quarterly results, while Varonis Systems gained around 2.6% after Proofpoint agreed to acquire the data-security company in a $6.3 billion all-cash transaction.
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Inflation Complicates Federal Reserve Outlook
Fresh economic data added to uncertainty over monetary policy. The US Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% in September, taking annual inflation to 3.7%, up from 3.4% in August. Core CPI increased 0.3% monthly and 2.6% annually.
Wholesale inflation delivered another concern: the Producer Price Index climbed 1.3% in September, its largest monthly increase since March 2022. Higher fuel costs accounted for a substantial portion of the increase.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh highlighted the economy's resilience and AI's potential contribution to growth, but did not signal a clear interest-rate path. Markets increasingly expect the Fed to hold rates steady at its October meeting.
S&P 500 And Nasdaq Face Weekly Losses
The S&P 500 was heading for a weekly decline of around 0.9%, while the Nasdaq was on track to fall roughly 2.4%. The Dow, supported by a rotation into defensive sectors such as healthcare, was positioned for a gain of about 1%.
With AI profitability concerns and persistent inflation shaping sentiment, investors are watching corporate earnings and Federal Reserve signals for the next direction in US equities.
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