Investing.com– U.S. stock index futures firmed on Thursday evening, heralding some recovery after increasing doubts over the AI trade in a Democrat-led Congress wiped out hundreds of billions from Wall Street.
Focus was now on upcoming labor market data for more cues on the economy and interest rates, with markets also on guard over any more hawkish signals for the Federal Reserve.
S&P 500 Futures rose 0.26% to 7,402.0 points by 19:39 ET (00:39 GMT). Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.83% to 26,970.50 points, while Dow Jones Futures fell 0.15% to 51,537.0 points.
Futures remained skittish after Wall Street suffered its worst day in nearly 19 months on Thursday, battered chiefly by a major wipeout in high-flying technology and artificial intelligence stocks.
Chipmakers were by far the worst hit, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index sliding 12.25% for the day. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), which recently relinquished its title as the world’s most valuable listed company, slumped nearly 10% on Thursday, while rival AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) slid 17%.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)– all of which are heavily exposed to data center spending– fell between 2% and 4%, while iPhone maker Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) performed relatively better with a 1.5% drop.
The Democratic Party’s sweep of the midterm elections– where it secured majorities in both chambers of Congress– sparked heightened concerns over more regulatory scrutiny towards AI development and data center construction.
Texas Governor-Elect, Democrat Gina Hinojosa, called for a pause on any new data center construction until there were laws to protect citizens in place. Her comments reflected a broader rhetoric among Democratic lawmakers, especially amid growing voter pushback against more data center construction across the country.
The development came amid already growing doubts over the long-term feasibility of AI, after a host of middling September quarter earnings from Wall Street’s biggest firms pointed to uncertain returns on their massive AI investments.
Separately, reports said AI major Anthropic was facing increased investor scrutiny over its plans to publicly list later this month, with Reuters reporting that the startup could potentially delay a listing.
