Pre-Bell｜Nasdaq Futures Drop 1.5% on Fading December Rate-Cut Expectations; Nvidia Sinks over 3%; Tesla, Palantir Plunge 5% Each

U.S. stock index futures dipped on Friday, signaling a fresh round of selloff on Wall Street after hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials added to doubts about an interest rate cut in December.

Market Snapshot

At 8:35 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 283 points, or 0.60%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 66.75 points, or 0.99%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 373.5 points, or 1.49%.

Pre-Market Movers

Applied Materials shares dropped 6.6% ahead of the opening bell. The chip equipment maker reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue after Thursday’s close, and also forecast solid results for the current quarter, which ends in January. Investors may have been looking for stronger results, given the stock’s recent rally: As of Thursday’s close, Applied Materials was up 37% for the year.

Warner Bros. Discovery climbed 3.3% in premarket trading. Paramount Skydance, Comcast, and Netflix are all preparing bids for the entertainment company ahead of next week’s deadline, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Warner Bros., Paramount, and Netflix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Barron’s. Comcast declined to comment.

Nvidia stock slipped 3%. Amazon has privately joined Microsoft in supporting legislation that threatens to further curb the chip maker’s exports to China, the Journal reported, citing congressional aides and people familiar with the matter.

Nvidia stock could also be taking a hit from the broader pivot away from artificial intelligence, with investors worried that valuations have become too high. Shares in AI-enhanced software provider Palantir Technologies slipped 5.09% on Friday.

Tesla stock slipped 5.17% to $382.65 premarket. The electric vehicle manufacturer’s stock has fallen since shareholders approved a trillion-dollar pay award for CEO Elon Musk on Nov. 6, as the market rotates away from Big Tech.

Gap climbed 2.2% to $24.82 after Jefferies upgraded the clothing retailer’s stock to Buy from Hold, and raised its price target to $30 from $22. The new price target implies shares can rise 24% from their level as of Thursday’s close.

Cidara Therapeutics stock soared 92%. Merck will acquire Cidara in a nearly $9.2 billion deal, the companies said on Friday, gaining access to an experimental drug for flu prevention.

Market News

Spot Gold Falls as Fed Cut Hopes Fade After Hawkish Fed Comments

Gold prices reversed earlier gains on Friday as hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials clouded prospects for a December rate cut, although they remained set for a weekly gain supported by wider economic uncertainty.

Spot gold fell 1.06% to $4,126.91 per ounce, after hitting $4,211.06 earlier in the session.

"Gold prices are receiving support from the cautious mood that has set in across financial markets... however, the upside remains limited by growing doubts about a Federal Reserve rate cut in December, given the lack of fresh economic data," said ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista.

Bitcoin Slides to Six-Month Low as Risk off Tone Grips Markets

Bitcoin traded below $96,000 for the first time in over six months on Friday, as a sell-off in risky assets accelerated on fading expectations for a December rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

It was last down 2.8% at $96,009, having earlier dropped as low as $95,885.33, its lowest since May 7.

The largest cryptocurrency by market cap was on track for its third straight weekly fall and is down almost 24% from its peak in early October.