June 26 (Reuters) – Futures tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq led Wall Street losses on Friday, as chip stocks came under renewed pressure after a sharp rally in the previous session, while some megacap technology names also slipped.
Memory chipmaker Micron Technology shed 4.8% in premarket trading after jumping more than 15% in the previous session when its robust quarterly forecast lifted technology stocks around the world.
Chip stocks, among the biggest winners of the AI trade this year, ran into turbulence earlier this week. While investors questioned lofty AI-driven valuations, large hyperscalers such as Alphabet and Amazon fell on doubts about how quickly could heavy data-center spending translate into profits.
The sector was back under pressure on Friday. Intel and Advanced Micro Devices were down over 3% each and Nvidia slid 1.4%.
Apple shares were steady after dropping over 6% on Thursday when it raised prices on some products due to soaring memory and storage chip costs.
Megacap and growth stocks were mixed, with Tesla and Alphabet treading lower while Amazon.com and Microsoft were on the rise.
On Friday, some software companies including Salesforce, ServiceNow and Intuit rose around 1% each. Software companies have been hit hard this year on concerns that AI could disrupt parts of their business models.
A report that OpenAI was considering delaying its public debut until next year also weighed on risk sentiment towards the tech space.
“This move would be heavy with symbolism given the company essentially kicked off the whole AI theme in earnest with the launch of ChatGPT in 2022,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
Shares of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which debuted earlier this month, were down 1.7% in choppy trading.
Investors expect heavy trading volume on Friday to reflect changes to the Russell indexes, including reclassification for megacaps like Microsoft and the Russell 1000’s “fast-track” addition of SpaceX.
The benchmark S&P 500 ended flat in the previous session as losses in Big Tech were offset by gains in industrials, healthcare and materials.
As of last close, the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were on pace for steep weekly losses while the blue-chip Dow was set for mild advances.
At 5:29 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 59 points, or 0.11%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 39.25 points, or 0.53%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 343.5 points, or 1.16%.
Meanwhile, concerns about the U.S. Federal Reserve, under a new chairman, hiking interest rates lingered, with traders pricing in one 25-basis-point rate hike and a near-27% chance of another by year-end, according to LSEG-compiled data.
New York Fed President John Williams said on Thursday while inflation pressures are likely to moderate this year, they remain too high. Data on Thursday showed U.S. inflation increased further in May.
A final reading of June consumer sentiment is due later in the day, while the monthly jobs report is due next week.
Among early movers, Synaptics rose 5.5% after ON Semiconductor said it has agreed to acquire the company in an all-stock deal valued at about $7 billion.
Crocs added 1.8% after Piper Sandler upgraded its rating on the footwear maker to “overweight” from “neutral”.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
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