Key Notes
- Nasdaq 100 futures recovered Friday morning after a roughly 7.1% decline over 12 hours spanning Thursday’s trading day and early evening.
- December Nasdaq futures were up about 1.8% from their previous close at 09:38 UTC, while Dow futures remained lower.
- The S&P 500 finished Thursday about 6% below its October 6 record close, with the October US jobs report due Friday at 13:30 UTC.
Nasdaq 100 futures recovered Friday morning after a roughly 7.1% slide over 12 hours that carried Thursday’s technology selloff into evening trading. The December contract was up about 1.8% from its previous close by 4:38 a.m. Eastern, with S&P 500 futures also higher as investors awaited the October jobs report.
The rebound was uneven. Dow futures remained lower, and the gains in technology contracts recovered only part of the previous day’s losses. Thursday’s cash session had ended with the Nasdaq 100 down 6.36%, the Nasdaq Composite off 5.52% and the S&P 500 lower by 4.36%.
At the morning snapshot, December Nasdaq 100 futures traded at 27,234.25, more than 3% above their overnight low of 26,366.50. Those prices describe a recovery in futures before Wall Street’s opening bell; the cash indexes had not yet begun Friday trading.
A 12-Hour Slide Spanned the Trading Day and Evening
The December Nasdaq contract fell from roughly 28,408 around 6:15 a.m. Eastern Thursday to 26,392 around 6:15 p.m., according to price history. That amounts to a decline of approximately 7.1% over 12 hours, including the regular US stock-market session and the start of evening futures trading.
The contract touched 26,366.50 soon after evening trading resumed. By early Friday, buyers had lifted it about 868 points from that low. The size of the recovery reflects how far prices had fallen: it still left the contract well below Thursday morning’s level.
The rout had gathered force during the cash session, as detailed in our closing report. The Dow lost 1,833.06 points, and the Nasdaq 100 finished at 26,629.81 after one of its sharpest declines in recent years.
CME’s Nasdaq futures trade for nearly 24 hours a day, allowing investors to adjust exposure while US shares are closed. Futures and cash indexes have different prices and trading sessions, so their percentage moves need to be measured against their own reference levels.
The Morning Bounce Is Led by Technology Futures
Yahoo Finance’s December-contract quotes at approximately 4:38 a.m. Eastern, or 09:38 UTC, showed:
- Nasdaq 100 futures: 27,234.25, up 1.80% from the previous close.
- S&P 500 futures: 7,423.50, up 0.55%.
- Dow futures: 51,307, down 0.60%.
The difference between the Nasdaq and Dow contracts put technology at the front of the rebound. It did not amount to a uniform recovery across the market: the Dow was still below its Thursday reference price even as the technology-heavy contract gained.
Volatility eased as well. A separate 4:33 a.m. Eastern quote put the Cboe Volatility Index at 25.60, down about 9.2% from Thursday’s 28.18 close. The index remained far above Wednesday’s 16.61 closing level, a reminder of how abruptly options traders had repriced risk during the selloff. The VIX tracks expected near-term S&P 500 volatility through option prices.
October’s Highs Remain Distant
The S&P 500 closed Thursday at 7,353.73, about 6.0% below its October 6 record close of 7,818.93. The Nasdaq 100 was 14.7% below its own record close of 31,224.47 on the same date, based on historical data. Friday’s futures gains had yet to change either cash-index closing record.
AI suppliers bore much of Thursday’s selling. Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) fell 9.3%, while Advanced Micro Devices (Nasdaq: AMD) lost 17.3%. Both companies depend on the spending plans of customers building computing capacity.
Investors have been reassessing those plans after Democratic election victories and voter-backed data-center restrictions. Delayed facilities can push back orders for processors, memory and storage, even when customers still intend to expand. The effect extends to cloud operators carrying equipment and financing costs while they wait for sites to begin earning revenue.
The Jobs Report Arrives Before the Opening Bell
Friday’s economic calendar gives the rebound an immediate test. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release October payrolls, unemployment and wage data at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, or 13:30 UTC, an hour before regular stock trading begins.
The figures will bring the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook back into focus after a session dominated by AI investment concerns. Hiring and wage growth will help investors judge whether the economy is cooling enough to ease inflation pressure, or whether borrowing costs are likely to stay restrictive.
Until then, the Nasdaq’s early gains give buyers some ground back after Thursday’s rout. The cash opening will show whether that demand extends beyond the overnight futures market to the chipmakers and cloud companies that led the selling.
