AI Stocks Recover as Futures Rise, Oil Slips — Update
By Joe StonorStock futures rallied after a tech-led selloff in the previous session, as lower oil prices and a rebound in artificial-intelligence sentiment boosted markets.Nasdaq futures rose 0.8%, partly recovering losses from a sharp drop in AI-linked stocks Thursday after a Financial Times report said OpenAI's annualized revenue would be $20 billion lower than expected. But the market shrugged off those fears as analysts questioned whether an accounting difference--rather than a slowdown in demand--lay behind the figure in the FT's report. Chip makers and hyperscalers gained in the premarket, with Nvidia rising 1.6%.OpenAI didn't immediately reply to a request for comment."Markets have been given another AI relief impulse, but the underlying structure remains fragile," TickMill Group strategist Patrick Munnelly said.Other major indexes also rose, with futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average inching up 0.1% while S&P 500 futures added 0.4%. European stocks rallied, with the continent-wide Stoxx 600 adding 1.1% amid a software rally. Asian stocks were mixed, however, as the AI-heavy Korean Kospi and the Japanese Nikkei 225 fell.Telecommunications stocks were one weak spot in the U.S. and Europe. Shares in T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T dropped by around 7% premarket, while European telecoms names tumbled after Elon Musk's SpaceX accelerated its efforts to build a mobile network.Yields nudged higher in early European trade, though levels were comfortably below the multidecade highs hit earlier this month. Ten-year Treasury yields edged up 1.1 basis points to 5.244%, while 30-year yields added 1 basis point to 5.617%.Oil prices pulled back from Thursday's highs after President Trump said the U.S. wouldn't attack Iran before the midterms, citing "productive" talks with Tehran. Front-month Brent crude contracts dropped 1.5% to $102.70 a barrel. WTI crude fell 1% to $90.57 a barrel. Supply risks remain, however, as Houthi militants continue attacks on Saudi Arabia, and Hurricane Isaias threatens oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.The dollar pulled back from recent highs against a basket of global currencies, buoying gold prices and bitcoin. The cryptocurrency rose by close to 2% to trade around $83,300, while New York gold futures rose back above $4,200 a troy ounce.For the day ahead, investors will watch for U.S. consumer sentiment data.Write to Joe Stonor at [email protected]