Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures wobble after brutal sell-off, with key jobs report on deck
US stock futures attempted to stabilize on Friday after a post-election rally turned into an artificial intelligence trade meltdown, sending tremors through markets. Investors also braced for the October jobs report.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) fell 0.7%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) rose 0.3%. Contracts for the Nasdaq-100 (NQ=F) rose 1% after the tech-heavy index slipped into a correction on Thursday.
The major indexes were on track to post substantial losses during the volatile election week that saw the Democrats retake the House and Senate. At the center of Wednesday’s deep sell-off, which erased $2.3 trillion in market value, were concerns about a slowdown in data center construction and in AI spending.
The hit chip stocks like Nvidia (NVDA), Micron (MU), AMD (AMD), and Sandisk (SNDK) most directly, but also spilled into broader markets, sending the VIX Volatility Index (^VIX) up 70% to 28.
Oil prices have also been in play, with global benchmark Brent crude (BZ=F) and WTI crude (CL=F) futures falling below $100 per barrel. Energy traders continue to assess the outlook for the war in the Middle East, with the potential for a reescalation weighing on sentiment.
Not to be overshadowed, the Labor Department will release its monthly jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET, providing an update on the health of the labor market. All signs point to a largely stable jobs environment, and economists expect that the US added 65,000 jobs in October.
