Before the Bell
Doubts about the AI build-out are back this morning. Nasdaq 100 futures are down -1.7% and S&P 500 futures -1.0%, giving back Wednesday's tech rally. Lam Research, a maker of chip-manufacturing equipment, is down about 9% after a forecast that only matched expectations, and Tesla is down about 5% after cutting its 2026 capital spending plan to about $20 billion from $25 billion. At the same time, Houthi drone strikes on Saudi Arabia, including the Shaybah oil field, have lifted Brent crude about 3% to near $112 a barrel, its highest in about five months.
On Wednesday the S&P 500 rose 0.58% to 7,757.17, the Nasdaq Composite 1.05% to 26,702.86 and the Dow 0.69% to 52,856.09. Super Micro Computer jumped 9.6% on a raised sales forecast, while AT&T fell 6.5% and Netflix 5.3%. Overnight, the selling spread through Asia's chip stocks: South Korea's KOSPI fell about 3.5%, Japan's Nikkei about 2.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 2.7%. Europe's Stoxx 600 is down about 0.9%, with banks and luxury names weighed down by Barclays and Hermès results.