A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 21, 2026.
NYSE
U.S. equity futures were mixed in early Friday trading after tech stocks sold off on concerns that the artificial intelligence trade could be faltering, at least in the near term.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 lost 0.04%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 92 points, or 0.17%. Nasdaq-100 futures added 0.11%.
In regular trading, the S&P 500 sank 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 2.6%. The broad market benchmark posted its worst session since July, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq had its worst day since June. The Dow Industrials bucked the trend and closed marginally higher.
In Asia, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi Index fell 2.42%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 2.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.47%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 declined 1.76%, deepening its descent into a technical bear market. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.21% lower.
Worries around artificial intelligence spending weighed down the market and dragged the U.S. tech sector to a 3% decline on the day. Nvidia dropped 4.4%, Alphabet fell 3.2%, and Advanced Micro Devices declined 8.1% as losses occurred in different parts of the technology sector.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC on Thursday he thought capital within the AI buildout was becoming scarce.
“There’s a scarcity of capital. The demand [for] the capital is much greater than the availability of the capital,” Huang said when asked about the neocloud segment of the AI buildout, which is proving to be fragile.
Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, described the AI trade on Thursday as a “bubble” but said that some depressurization wouldn’t be all bad.
“Taking some air out of the AI bubble is a good thing. I don’t think it’s going to burst and create problems for the economy,” he said, pointing to the bond market as a source of capital competition for equities.
Bond yields eased on Thursday, with the 10-year Treasury sliding 18.5 basis points to 4.961% as traders bid up safe-haven assets. The yield on the 30-year slid 15 basis points, and the 2-year yield fell 17.5 basis points.
Brent crude prices spiked following a report that the U.S. and Israel were drawing up plans for renewed attacks on Iran as part of the regional war that started in late February. Brent jumped 4% to end the session at $113.17, the highest settle since May.
On the week, the S&P 500 is heading for a slim gain, up less than 0.1%, while the Nasdaq is down 0.5% in the period. The Dow is tracking for a 1.7% advance.
On the economic front, traders will be watching for the final reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment report.
SGX CEO Loh Boon Chye to step down
Singapore Exchange CEO Loh Boon Chye has signaled he will be stepping down as CEO, although no fixed date for a handover has been decided.
Speaking to shareholders at SGX’s AGM, Loh said that he had told chairman Koh Boon Hwee that “we should begin planning ahead for an eventual transition in the CEO role.”
Although Loh said that there was no fixed date for a handover, he noted that his contract runs till the middle of 2027, which would be an “ample time for us to plan thoughtfully and work through the arrangements together. We are not setting a specific date for the transition today.”
Loh has been SGX’s chief since 2015, and Koh had said that under the CEO, the share price of the SGX has grown 216% since the time that he took the helm.
“Our net profit after tax is up 112%, and the market capitalization of the SGX Group is up 252%. That is a significant track record.”
— Lim Hui Jie
China’s benchmark CSI 300 extends slide, set for 11 straight weekly drop
China’s benchmark CSI 300 deepened its slide into bear market territory on Friday, falling 0.5%.
The index, which tracks 300 of the largest stocks listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, is set to clock its 11th consecutive weeks of decline, down 3.5%, underscoring sustained pressure on Chinese equities, data from LSEG showed.
Some market watchers see opportunities emerging from the sell-off, saying that much of the bad news surrounding China’s economy has already been priced into stocks.
“China’s vast underperformance provides an opportunity for investors as the ‘bad news’ is largely well known and reflected in prices,” said Brendan Ahern, chief investment officer at KraneShares.
—Lee Ying Shan
India says trade deal with EU could be operational by March 2027
The trade deal between India and the European Union is expected to be signed before the end of 2026 and become operational by March next year, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.
The minister said it was the “fastest trade deal” the EU has entered into, “with zero dissent,” adding that none of the bloc’s 27 member states have opposed any part of the agreement.
India’s free trade deal with the EU, which represents about 25% of global GDP and about a third of global trade, was announced in January. It had been in the works for over two decades.
Just days after India finalized the agreement with the EU, U.S. President Donald Trump also announced a trade deal with India.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said Washington would execute a deal with India “shortly,” and there were just a “small number of items left to wrap up.”
SK Hynix scraps Solidigm IPO plans; shares slightly lower in choppy trade
Shares of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix pared early losses to trade slightly lower on Friday after the company halted a review of a potential U.S. initial public offering for its subsidiary Solidigm.
Shares in Seoul had dropped over 3% early morning, while they had declined 8% in the U.S. overnight.
“Solidigm will halt its review of potential pre-IPO and IPO options,” the company said in the statement after assessing recent capital market conditions and share price trends, while also exploring various funding options to finance a new U.S. semiconductor fabrication plant amid growing demand for AI memory.
The chip manufacturer said an IPO could have helped fund Solidigm’s expansion while providing greater financial flexibility for shareholder returns, including dividends and share buybacks.
However, financial market volatility has increased, contributing to a broader correction in semiconductor stocks, prompting SK Hynix to reassess whether an IPO would benefit existing shareholders.
— Ying Shan Lee and Jenny Lee
Correction: This post has been revised to reflect that shares in the U.S. fell 8%.
Japan core inflation in September surges to its highest this year at 2.1%
Japan’s core inflation in September hit its highest this year at 2.1%, overshooting analysts’ expectations, pressured by steeper import costs due to a weak yen and the indirect impact of higher energy costs.
Core inflation, which strips out prices of fresh food, was in line with the 2.1% forecast by economists polled by Reuters, and accelerated from the 1.7% in the prior month.
Headline inflation came in at 2.1%, while the so-called “core-core” inflation, which excludes prices of fresh food and energy and is the Bank of Japan’s preferred gauge, was at 2.4%.
“That acceleration was noteworthy, not least because it occurred despite a sharp slowdown in fresh food inflation and continued energy deflation,” said Abhijit Surya, senior APAC economist at Capital Economics.
Rice prices notably declined 20.6% year on year, however, Surya said that this sharp drop could not prevent overall goods inflation from picking up to 2.8%, up from August’s 2.6%.
—Lim Hui Jie
South Korea stocks lead declines as Asia markets open lower
Asia-Pacific markets fell on Friday, with South Korean equities leading declines in the region.
The benchmark Kospi index fell 2.42%, while the tech-heavy Kosdaq index declined 2.6%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.49% and the broader Topix declined 0.86%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.21% lower.
—Lee Ying Shan
Asia-Pacific markets set to fall, tracking Wall Street losses on AI concerns
Asia-Pacific markets were set to mostly fall on Friday, tracking losses on Wall Street as concerns over soaring artificial intelligence spending and surging oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.
Futures for Japan’s Nikkei 225 in Chicago were at 62,360 while in Osaka they were last at 62,310 compared with the index’s previous close of 62,907.84.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index last traded at 23,133, compared with the index’s last close of 22,934.68.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.34% in early trading.
— Lee Ying Shan
Stocks making the biggest moves in after hours: Western Digital, Bloom Energy & more
Several stocks saw dramatic swings in extended trading following another raft of quarterly reports.
Western Digital — Shares of the data storage company fell 5%. The decline came after hard selling in the artificial intelligence trade during the regular session. Separately, Western Digital posted fiscal first quarter results that exceeded estimates, with adjusted earnings of $4.64 per share trouncing the LSEG consensus call for $4.09 per share. Revenue of $4.38 billion beat the expected $4.14 billion.
Bloom Energy — The fuel cell power company fell 5% even as third-quarter results trounced analysts’ estimates. Adjusted earnings of 94 cents per share and revenue of $1.24 billion surpassed the LSEG consensus call for 68 cents per share and $1.06 billion. Guidance for full-year revenues and adjusted earnings also came in ahead of estimates.
Read more about Thursday’s big movers in extended trading here.
—Darla Mercado
Sliding bond yields Thursday lift homebuilders, banks and REITs
U.S. stock futures open little changed after tech rout
U.S. stock futures were little changed as trading began at 6 p.m. in New York.
Dow futures advanced 38 points, or 0.07%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.05%. Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 0.07%.
—Darla Mercado