Dow futures were under pressure on Friday, falling about 214 points, roughly 0.5% as investors turned cautious ahead of key economic data and fresh Fed commentary.
The drop came after a round of hawkish remarks from Fed officials, which dampened hopes for any near-term rate cuts.
The weakness wasn’t limited to the Dow either. S&P 500 futures slipped around 0.6%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell more than 1%.
The overall sentiment took a hit as traders worried about sticky inflation and a murky economic outlook, leading many to dial back risk heading into the weekend and the release of central bank minutes.
5 things to know before Wall Street opens
1. Markets were on edge Friday as worries grew over what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates next.
Traders have been steadily pulling back their expectations for a December rate cut; the odds of a 0.25% reduction have slipped to around 52%, down from nearly 63% just a day earlier and a huge 95.5% only a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
The shift basically shows that investors are starting to believe inflation is still too stubborn for the Fed to comfortably start easing.
With the central bank trying to tame price pressures without hurting economic growth, traders are getting more cautious as the next policy decision approaches.
2. Nvidia and AMD were both under pressure in premarket trading on Friday, with each stock slipping around 2% as investors turned cautious ahead of their earnings reports.
Nvidia was down roughly 3.6%, trading near $186.86, while AMD slid about 4.2% to around $247.96.
It wasn’t just the chipmakers feeling the drag; Meta and Microsoft were also slightly in the red. Meta dipped just under 0.15%, and Microsoft was off about 1.5% in early trading.
The tech sector is dealing with a wave of uncertainty tied to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook and upcoming economic data. That hesitation is making investors more wary of high-growth names like Nvidia and AMD.
3. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that key October economic reports, including jobs and inflation data, might never be released because of the recent government shutdown.
That’s highly unusual, and it’s making investors nervous. Without those numbers, the Federal Reserve is basically flying blind, and that’s complicating the outlook for interest rates.
With no clear data showing whether the economy is slowing or inflation is easing, investors are becoming less confident that the Fed will cut rates at its December meeting.
The uncertainty is adding extra pressure to the markets as traders rethink their expectations for near-term policy moves.
4. Applied Materials shares slipped almost 4% even though the company actually beat expectations for its fourth quarter.
It posted adjusted earnings of $2.17 per share on $6.8 billion in revenue, both slightly above what analysts were looking for.
The company sounded optimistic about the second half of 2026, pointing to strong demand fueled by new chip technologies and booming AI-related growth.
But it also flagged a potential soft spot: weaker semiconductor spending in China. That caution, paired with ongoing geopolitical tensions and uncertainty around the chip supply chain, made investors a bit nervous.
5. Global markets mostly traded in red on Friday.
Asia-Pacific equities faced significant headwinds on Friday as investors reassessed their exposure to risk assets amid shifting Federal Reserve expectations.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.97%, driven by broad-based selling in semiconductor and technology stocks, while South Korea’s KOSPI fell 3.97%
Europe’s STOXX 600 slipped 1.85% as caution mounted ahead of the Fed’s upcoming decision, with December rate cut odds falling to approximately 50% from near-certainty just weeks earlier.
Anxiety over fading rate-cut hopes and some volatility in AI-linked stocks also added pressure.
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