U.S. stock futures moved lower in early Thursday trading, with Nasdaq futures down 1% and S&P 500 futures down 0.3%, as investors reacted to a hotter-than-expected inflation report and growing concerns over artificial intelligence infrastructure spending. Dow and Russell 2000 futures bucked the trend, gaining 0.4% as of 4 a.m. ET.
The sell-off followed a sharp decline in Asian markets, where South Korea’s KOSPI plunged over 7%, triggering a trading halt. The drop was led by heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix. This global tech weakness coincided with September CPI data released on Wednesday, which showed inflation rising 0.6% month-on-month and 3.7% year-on-year, exceeding street estimates. With 10-year Treasury yields hovering around 5%, CME Fedwatch data indicates a 27% probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike at the upcoming October meeting.
A new report from Gartner has intensified scrutiny on the AI sector, warning that over $3.5 trillion in AI infrastructure spending faces write-down risks by 2030. The report further stated that over 80% of neocloud providers could lose their independent operations. This assessment sparked a rout across AI cloud stocks on Wednesday. CoreWeave (CRWV) and Nebius (NBIS) continued to see sharp dips, although CoreWeave’s CEO reaffirmed confidence in the company’s $99 billion backlog. Dan Ives noted that fears surrounding CoreWeave’s selloff were “way overdone,” while Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment bought shares on Wednesday.
Noted investor Michael Burry warned of long-lasting market pain, arguing that falling Treasury yields do not guarantee an equity rally. He suggested that a similar selloff across Magnificent 7 stocks could add conviction to his “Red October” call. In the semiconductor sector, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSM) shares fell over 2% in premarket trade despite raising its 2026 revenue guidance and posting a record third-quarter profit. Micron Technology (MU) also reeled under pressure amid global memory weakness and reports that the Taiwan President urged management to resolve bonus disputes to avoid a strike at its HBM packaging hub.
SK Hynix (SKHY) shares fell for the eighth consecutive session after reports indicated the company is applying for U.S. clearance to send American chipmaking gear to Chinese plants, a condition tied to its plans for a domestic facility. Nvidia (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), and Qualcomm (QCOM) also traded in the red, tracking broad-based sector weakness. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) both fell over 2%. Reports that ByteDance is in advanced talks with MediaTek about custom AI data center chips added to the sector’s pressure.
In other premarket movers, Tesla (TSLA) shares fell nearly 2% ahead of its Roadster event, which CEO Elon Musk has called the “greatest product demo of all time.” Rocket Labs (RKLB) shares dropped 10% after announcing a delay of its reusable Neutron rocket launch to 2027, causing retail sentiment on Stocktwits to hit an all-time low. ImmunityBio (IBRX) rose 2% after the FDA expanded approval of its drug Anktiva for papillary non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, with Jefferies raising its price target to $14 from $12. Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA) fell 5% after its phase 3 trial for acute social anxiety failed to meet its primary endpoint.
Investors will watch for September Producer Price Index, retail sales, and weekly jobless claims data today. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to speak at the IMF meeting later today, offering potential clues on how policymakers assess the current macroeconomic situation.