Futures tracking US equities extended losses on Friday amid a renewed selloff in chipmakers and rising geopolitical tensions. Contracts on the S&P 500 fell nearly 1%, Nasdaq 100 futures slid 2%, and Dow Jones futures were down about 350 points.
Semiconductor stocks tumbled on growing concern that AI hyperscalers may scale back spending on AI infrastructure, unwinding part of this year’s rally. Fears of weaker capital expenditure were compounded by progress in Chinese AI models, including the latest Kimi release. Micron and Intel declined more than 3% in premarket trading, while Nvidia slipped 2%.
At the same time, pro‑inflationary risks intensified as the conflict in the Middle East dragged on and fuel costs rose. Economic headwinds were further exacerbated by US President Trump’s claim that China interfered in the 2020 US presidential election, threatening the fragile calm that followed last year’s tariff exchanges.
On the earnings front, Netflix sank 11% after projecting another quarter of slowing sales growth.
