U.S. Stock Futures Lower as Chip Selloff Rocks Markets

By Dow Jones Newswires Staff

U.S. stock futures fell in early European trade, as a selloff in stocks linked to the artificial-intelligence buildout continued to reverberate across the globe.

Losses for the Nasdaq are set to deepen, with stocks across the AI complex falling in premarket trade. Shares in technology investment group SoftBank dived in Japan, while companies across the AI supply chain struggled in Europe. Investors who have watched AI stocks boom so far this year are looking to lock in profits, while some worry about the sustainability of AI spending.

Meanwhile, oil prices remained elevated after another night of tit-for-tat strikes between the U.S. and Iran. On Thursday, the U.S. struck multiple bridges in Iran in an effort to cut off supply routes to a port city and naval base in the Strait of Hormuz that Iran uses to attack ships, The Wall Street Journal reported.

For the day ahead, investors watch for the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index for July.

--Oil prices were on track for a weekly gain of more than 10% as the U.S. and Iran stepped up attacks, raising fears of broader regional disruptions. "The renewed disruption has interrupted the recent recovery in regional supply, reviving concerns about tighter global markets," analysts at Saxo Bank said. "The impact has been most acute in refined products, with diesel and gasoline prices surging, pushing U.S. refining margins to record highs and increasing the risk of higher fuel costs for consumers." In early European trading, Brent crude rose 0.4% to $84.57 a barrel, while WTI futures were up 0.8% to $79.58 a barrel.

--U.S. futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.8%, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.6%. Chip stocks fell further in premarket trade, with Micron and Intel losing 4.4% and 4.7%, respectively. Netflix shares dropped 9% premarket after the streaming giant said it expects revenue and profit growth to slow in the third quarter.

--Asian equity markets fell sharply, largely on weakness in tech. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 4%, weighed by a 9% dive for SoftBank Group. Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 2.1%. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite declined 3%. Korean markets are closed for a holiday.

-- European equity indexes largely fell at the open as technology and bank stocks slipped. A basket of European technology stocks is 2.4% lower, helping drag the Europe-wide Stoxx 600 down 0.6%. The Dutch AEX dropped 0.7% as AI-related stocks slid, including a 3.8% drop for ASML. Germany's DAX dropped 0.7%. Chip maker Infineon Technologies slid 4.6%, while Siemens Energy dropped 2.7%. Deutsche Bank lost 1.7%. The CAC 40 was down 0.6% in Paris, with STMicroelectronics shedding 6%. Falls for banks weighed on Spain's IBEX 35 and Italy's FTSE MIB, as the indexes fell 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was an outlier, trading flat. London utilities and tobacco companies gained, though Burberry fell 4.1%.

--The dollar edged lower as oil prices stabilized. Weaker-than-expected U.S. consumer-price and producer-price inflation figures have sent confusing signals and leave the dollar struggling for direction, Commerzbank's Volkmar Baur said in a note. "In addition to the rise in oil prices, there are also falling inflation numbers, which point in a different direction," he said. The DXY dollar index edged down 0.1% to 100.689.

--U.S. Treasury yields declined in Asian trade. The two-year yield fell 2 bps to 4.136%; the 10-year yield was down 2 bps to 4.548%, and 30-year yield fell 1.4 bps to 5.083%.

--Eurozone government bond yields fell in early trade. The data calendar is light on Friday, although eurozone balance of payments data for May and final harmonized CPI data for June are due for release. There is no government bond issuance due. The yield on the August 2036-dated Bund fell 1.8 basis points to 3.120%, according to LSEG.

--Bitcoin fell 1.9% to $62,866.

--Gold futures held below $4,000 a troy ounce in early European trade, edging up 0.2% to $3,998.60. New York futures are on track for a weekly decline of more than 3%. "The recent price action suggests that markets are placing greater weight on the prospect of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates than on gold's traditional safe-haven demand, leaving gold vulnerable unless geopolitical risks translate into a broader deterioration in financial market sentiment," Soojin Kim from MUFG said.

Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 17, 2026 04:45 ET (08:45 GMT)