US stock futures took a breather on Friday, gearing up to end the latest turbulent week in what is shaping up to be a rocky month on Wall Street.
Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) nudged up 0.1%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) hovered around the flatline. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) ticked up 0.2%.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is tracking toward its worst November since 2008 amid mounting concerns over an AI-fueled “bubble”. Not even Nvidia (NVDA) and its CEO, Jensen Huang, could allay those fears after its blowout earnings reveal on Wednesday.
Stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday in a remarkable turnabout, with Nvidia alone swinging from gains of as much as 5% to finishing more than 2% lower. Other chip and megacap tech stocks followed suit, as the broader tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) erased gains of as much as 2.5% to close down nearly 2%. Both the S&P and Nasdaq sit at their lowest levels since September.
Read more: Live coverage of corporate earnings
Cryptocurrencies also continue to feel the heat. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) continued to sink on Friday, trading at around $84,000 a token. The price dipped Thursday to below $87,000, deepening a slide from record-high levels just more than a month ago.
Also sparking investor whiplash Thursday was the long-delayed release of September’s jobs report. The release initially portended optimism, with hiring far surpassing meager expectations. But the unemployment rate rose to its highest rate in nearly four years. And ultimately, the report didn’t do much to change the narrative of a deeply divided Federal Reserve, with most bets on a rate hold at its meeting next month.
Stocks are headed for steep weekly losses, with the S&P 500 tracking toward a decline of over 2%, while the Nasdaq is positioned for an over 3% plunge. In November so far, the benchmark index is down around 4%, while the tech-heavy index is off over 6%.
On Friday, investors will get a final read of November consumer confidence from the University of Michigan, after the preliminary reading found the measure near a three-year low. Several Fed officials are also set to speak, perhaps offering further clarity on the central bank’s rate path in December — and beyond.
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