US stock futures fell early Thursday as investors digested mixed third-quarter results from Meta Platforms and Tesla, with technology shares under pressure after a strong run. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 were down around 1.5% to 1.8%, while S&P 500 futures slipped about 0.76% and Dow futures eased 0.37% as of 1:35 a.m. EDT, according to market data.
Crude oil prices trended higher at the same time on fears of a possible escalation in the Middle East, following reports that the US and Israel have drawn up plans to resume strikes against Iran after the midterm elections. Brent crude traded near $111 a barrel.
A tale of two earnings
In Wednesday’s after-hours trading, Meta shares rose more than 2% after the company reported $64.6 billion in quarterly revenue — up 26% — and the early success of its Muse AI assistant lifted sentiment. In contrast, Tesla fell over 3% after reporting better-than-expected revenue but a 44% plunge in quarterly profit, with automotive revenue down 3% year over year.
The mixed results came a day after a strong regular session: the Dow rose 0.69%, the S&P 500 gained 0.58% and the Nasdaq added 1.05%, helped by SpaceX’s 7.8% jump on its first profit since listing and Super Micro’s 9.6% surge on a raised outlook.
What to watch at the open
Investors will also parse weekly jobless claims, retail sales and producer price data due Thursday morning, plus any further headlines from the Gulf. Semiconductor stocks — Intel, Marvell, Micron and Qualcomm all fell premarket — are the day’s key battleground.
The cautious open follows Wednesday’s 530-point Dow rally, leaving traders to decide whether earnings can extend the market’s winning streak.
The premarket action was ugly across chips: Intel and Marvell each fell more than 5%, Micron dropped 3.5%, Qualcomm lost nearly 3% and Nvidia slipped 2.2%, according to CNBC’s market coverage. Meta, by contrast, rose about 0.7% premarket on its revenue beat, while Tesla dropped more than 4.5%. The split verdict on the two megacaps — one rewarded for AI monetisation, one punished for margin compression — is likely to set the tone for the rest of Big Tech earnings season.
