Dow Jones futures retreat after tech sell-off amid Middle East tensions

• AI expenditure and mounting technology-sector debt concerns continue to weigh heavily on wider sentiment, leaving US index futures mixed.
• Losses in leading technology shares, among them Tesla, Nvidia, AMD and Meta, dragged lower the Nasdaq and S&P 500.
• An intensifying Middle East conflict prompted safe-haven inflows into bonds, with 10-year Treasury yields moving close to 4.98%.

A 0.37% fall leaves Dow Jones futures trading near 52,870 in Friday’s European session. A decline of 0.07% puts S&P 500 futures at around 7,700, whereas Nasdaq 100 futures are up 0.16% at roughly 29,190.

Following the previous day’s steep losses in technology shares, US equity futures are trading without a clear direction. Increasing doubts about whether artificial intelligence investment can be sustained have dampened market sentiment.

Thursday’s regular US session saw declines of 2.6% for the Nasdaq Composite and 1.21% for the S&P 500, in contrast to a marginal 0.02% gain for the Dow. Memory chipmakers Micron and SanDisk, semiconductor heavyweights Nvidia and AMD, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Tesla were among the main underperformers. Plans by Meta Platforms to raise capital expenditure preceded the sell-off, reviving concerns that technology groups may borrow more to finance the expansion of their AI infrastructure.

Heightened tensions in the Middle East also weighed on shares, steering investors towards the relative safety of bonds. Having dropped more than 10 basis points to a one-month low on the previous day, the US 10-year Treasury yield recovered to around 4.98% on Friday. Before that, safe-haven inflows had supported US bond prices as the sell-off in technology and artificial intelligence shares gathered pace.

Semiconductor and CoreWeave shares slump as AI growth concerns intensify

Renewed questions about the staying power of AI-led growth have reinforced the broader risk-off mood, according to Deutsche Bank analysts. As they put it, “yesterday also brought a fresh wave of concern around AI-driven growth, reversing some of the optimism from earlier in the week,” with several of the most exposed stocks enduring a “rough session.” The Philly semiconductor index, in particular, “(-6.72%) had its worst day since June,” and CoreWeave’s share price “(-10.06%) fell to its lowest since May 2025,” illustrating the speed with which sentiment has turned against AI-related shares.