Futures slide across the board, Dow leads the retreat
Tanker struck off Qatar fans supply fears
Samsung miss deepens the AI wobble
AI-linked stocks offered no shelter. Samsung Electronics posted a near-ninefold jump in quarterly operating profit, yet the result came in below market expectations, sending its shares down 2.4 percent and dragging Asian tech stocks lower. The Wall Street Journal reported that Oracle, Broadcom, and SpaceX are all looking to tap debt markets to fund AI investments — Broadcom alone lining up $50 billion tied to OpenAI — fueling fears of a debt race among tech giants competing for capital. In premarket trading, Nvidia dipped 0.6 percent, Broadcom eased 1.4 percent, and Micron fell 1.2 percent, extending the AI pullback.
Yields climb again as inflation fears return
The data picture was mixed. U.S. weekly jobless claims fell for a fifth straight week to 197,000, below economists' expectations of 200,000 — a continued "low-fire" labor market that gives the Federal Reserve cover to keep rates high. Per CME FedWatch, traders now see a 22 percent chance of a hike at the late-October meeting and an 86 percent chance of at least one hike in December. Fed Governor Christopher Waller hinted additional increases may be needed if data cooperates, though there is "flexibility" on the pace. More catalysts lie ahead tonight, including the minutes of the September FOMC meeting and the New York Fed's one-year inflation expectations — the volatility may not be over.
