US stock futures traded mixed on Friday, October 16, as technology shares remained under pressure following a week of losses. Premarket figures showed modest gains in contracts tied to the S&P 500 and Dow Jones, while Nasdaq futures slipped ahead of the opening bell.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq Head for Weekly Losses
At 8:43 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures were up 0.13%, while Dow Jones futures gained 41 points, or 0.08%. Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 0.20%. Earlier readings showed slightly different moves as contracts shifted during premarket trading. The figures reflected market activity before Friday's regular session.
The S&P 500 was heading toward a weekly decline of about 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite had lost roughly 2.4%. The Dow remained on course for a weekly advance of about 1%. Thursday's modest market gains followed increased buying in healthcare and other sectors less exposed to artificial intelligence spending.
AI Stocks and Chipmakers Extend Their Declines
Chipmakers continued to lose ground after falling earlier in the week. Micron dropped about 2% before Friday's open, while Intel fell 1.6%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF had lost about 7.4% for the week heading into the session. Investors were monitoring competition from Chinese memory-chip producers and the cost of new AI infrastructure.
CoreWeave fell around 5.5% in premarket trading. Its bonds weakened during the week, driving yields above 15% amid concerns about its debt. Nebius Group and Iren each dropped more than 3%.
Meanwhile, investors considering an Anthropic stock market debut were reportedly discussing a lower valuation as AI financing costs rose. The discussions come as private-company AI valuations attract greater attention.
Tesla Stock Rises after Roadster Reveal as Netflix Stock Falls
Tesla climbed about 3.3% before the opening bell after revealing an updated Roadster sports car. The company developed rocket-style thruster features with SpaceX and expects production to begin in 2028. Its shares moved higher even as several other technology companies recorded losses during the same session.
Netflix fell around 3.6% after naming former Disney executive Peter Rice as its new chief content officer. He will replace Bela Bajaria.
Insurer Travelers declined roughly 3.2% following its third-quarter results. Varonis Systems advanced about 2.8% after Proofpoint, owned by Thoma Bravo, agreed to acquire the data security company for USD 6.3 billion in cash.
US Inflation Keeps Federal Reserve Interest Rates in Focus
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that September producer prices rose 1.3% from August, while the annual increase reached 6.3%. The agency confirmed that consumer prices increased 0.6% during September and 3.7% from a year earlier. Gasoline prices jumped 9.1% during the month, accounting for more than half of the monthly rise in consumer inflation.
Higher energy costs followed the U.S.-Iran war, with Brent crude trading around USD 106 per barrel on Friday. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh spoke in Bangkok but gave no indication of the next interest-rate decision.
Traders assigned roughly an 85% probability to unchanged rates at the October 27–28 meeting. The inflation figures coincided with selling across cryptocurrency markets.
US Equity Funds Attract USD 13 Billion as Tech Investors Withdraw
U.S. equity funds received USD 13.01 billion in the week ended October 14, according to LSEG Lipper data. That reversed USD 5.1 billion in withdrawals during the previous week. Large-cap funds attracted USD 16.55 billion, while technology-sector funds lost USD 5.21 billion, their biggest weekly outflow since late June.
Treasury yields eased from recent highs during the period. The benchmark 10-year yield had retreated about 26 basis points from the previous week's peak of 5.3645% before rising again on Friday.
Bitcoin traded above USD 82,000 following its recovery from Thursday's decline. U.S. bond funds received USD 6.45 billion for their 26th consecutive week of inflows. Money market funds recorded withdrawals of USD 45.93 billion after receiving USD 68.49 billion the week before.
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