United States stock futures edged lower on Thursday night (Friday AEDT), after a weak session for technology shares dragged the broader market into negative territory and investors turned their focus to key inflation and growth data due later in the day.
By 10:55 am AEDT (11:55 pm GMT), futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 were down 0.6%, 0.4%, and 0.3%, respectively.
In extended trading, shares in Block surged 22.9% after the payments group announced plans to cut more than 4,000 employees, representing around half its workforce.
Zscaler tumbled 9.5% as the company reported second-quarter deferred revenue of $2.36 billion, below the StreetAccount consensus of $2.45 billion. Billings of $819.8 million also missed expectations of $893.3 million.
Dell Technologies jumped 10.7% after reporting robust fourth-quarter results. The company posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.89, beating market estimates of $3.53, while revenue of $33.38 billion exceeded forecasts of $31.67 billion.
Space launch provider Rocket Lab slid 4.9% after guiding for a first-quarter adjusted loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of between $21 million and $27 million, wider than the $17 million loss expected.
Shares in Intuit fell 4.9% after the TurboTax maker projected fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings of $12.45 to $12.51 per share, below the FactSet consensus of $12.97.
Meanwhile, Autodesk climbed 2% as the software group beat estimates on both revenue and earnings in the fourth quarter.
Thursday’s regular session saw the S&P 500 fall 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.2%. The 30-stock Dow finished marginally higher, rising 17 points, or less than 0.1%.
Losses were led by Nvidia, which dropped 5.5% despite delivering stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results and upbeat guidance. The decline surprised many investors who remain constructive on the chipmaker’s prospects, particularly in light of its upcoming product cycle.
Market participants cited lingering doubts around Nvidia’s reported deal with OpenAI, fragile sentiment surrounding the broader artificial intelligence trade and concerns that hyperscalers’ elevated AI capital expenditure plans may prove difficult to sustain.
At the same time, investors rotated into more cyclical sectors, with financials and industrials among the session’s strongest performers. Ongoing tensions surrounding President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and U.S.-Iran relations also remained in focus.
Looking ahead, investors are bracing for the release of January’s producer price index (PPI), a key gauge of wholesale inflation. Markets expect headline PPI to rise 0.3% for the month, with core PPI, which strips out food and energy prices, also forecast to increase 0.3%.
