A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 21, 2026.
NYSE
U.S. equity futures were about flat on Thursday evening after tech stocks sold off on concerns that the artificial intelligence trade may be faltering, at least for the near term.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 52 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.06%, and Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 0.1%.
In regular trading, the S&P 500 sank 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 2.6%. The broad market benchmark posted its worst session since July, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq had its worst day since June. The Dow Industrials bucked the trend and closed marginally higher.
In Asia, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi Index fell 2.42%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 2.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.47%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 declined 1.76%, deepening its descent into a technical bear market. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.21% lower.
Worries around artificial intelligence spending weighed down the market and dragged the U.S. tech sector to a 3% decline on the day. Nvidia dropped 4.4%, Alphabet fell 3.2%, and Advanced Micro Devices declined 8.1% as losses occurred in different parts of the technology sector.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC on Thursday he thought capital within the AI buildout was becoming scarce.
“There’s a scarcity of capital. The demand [for] the capital is much greater than the availability of the capital,” Huang said when asked about the neocloud segment of the AI buildout, which is proving to be fragile.
Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, described the AI trade on Thursday as a “bubble” but said that some depressurization wouldn’t be all bad.
“Taking some air out of the AI bubble is a good thing. I don’t think it’s going to burst and create problems for the economy,” he said, pointing to the bond market as a source of capital competition for equities.
Bond yields eased on Thursday, with the 10-year Treasury sliding 18.5 basis points to 4.961% as traders bid up safe-haven assets. The yield on the 30-year slid 15 basis points, and the 2-year yield fell 17.5 basis points.
Brent crude prices spiked following a report that the U.S. and Israel were drawing up plans for renewed attacks on Iran as part of the regional war that started in late February. Brent jumped 4% to end the session at $113.17, the highest settle since May.
On the week, the S&P 500 is heading for a slim gain, up less than 0.1%, while the Nasdaq is down 0.5% in the period. The Dow is tracking for a 1.7% advance.
On the economic front, traders will be watching for the final reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment report.
