U.S. equity futures moved lower on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, as investors stayed cautious after a sharp technology selloff and crude prices climbed back above $100 a barrel, according to CNBC. Futures on the S&P 500 lost 0.5%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 480 points, or 0.9%, and Nasdaq-100 futures shed 0.3%.
The pullback follows a rough session on Thursday in which technology shares retreated as traders weighed how heavy corporate borrowing and rising interest rates might affect artificial intelligence and other tech businesses. CNBC reports that Microsoft and Meta were still modestly lower in early trading Friday.
Why it matters
The AI trade has been one of the market's main engines, and any sign that it is cooling tends to ripple across indexes. Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, called the AI trade a "bubble" on Thursday but argued that some deflation in it would not necessarily be harmful, according to CNBC. He said he does not expect it to burst and damage the economy, and he pointed to the bond market as a competitor for capital that would otherwise go into stocks.
Oil is adding to the pressure. West Texas Intermediate futures gained 1.4% to $100.90 per barrel, and Brent crude rose 0.75% to $114, CNBC reports. The move followed reports that the U.S. and Israel may be preparing fresh strikes on Iran as part of the regional war that began in late February.
Borrowing costs draw scrutiny as CoreWeave slides
CoreWeave, which CNBC describes as the most prominent example of a data center company leaning heavily on debt, fell 10% on Thursday and slipped another 1% early Friday. Chipmakers were steadier, with Micron Technology and Advanced Micro Devices each up about 1% in off-hours trading, according to CNBC.
Treasury yields edged higher Friday after dropping sharply a day earlier, when investors moved into government debt as a safe haven. CNBC reports the 10-year yield added about 1 basis point to 4.9697%, the 30-year was roughly flat and the 2-year fell 2 basis points. A separate CNBC tally put the 10-year at 4.9759% and the 2-year at 4.6625%, both up 2 basis points, with the 30-year up more than 1 basis point at 5.2985%.
On the week, the S&P 500 was tracking a gain of less than 0.1%, the Nasdaq was down 0.5% and the Dow was headed for a 1.7% advance, according to CNBC.
Telecoms fall on SpaceX wireless report, Moderna extends losses
Telecommunications stocks slid after Bloomberg reported that SpaceX is in talks to secure access to at least 80,000 cell sites across the U.S. and has discussed its plans with Crown Castle and other infrastructure firms, according to CNBC. AT&T and T-Mobile US each dropped nearly 5% in premarket trading, while Verizon Communications fell about 4%.
SpaceX shares themselves rose about 1% before the bell after PhillipCapital double upgraded the stock to buy from sell and lifted its price target to $250 from $75, CNBC reports. Analyst Glenn Thum cited new cloud services agreements at higher rental prices, $608 million added by Cursor from mid-August, and improving operating leverage that turned the company's "super intelligence" AI unit profitable. The new target implies a gain of almost 73% from Thursday's close.
Moderna fell 5.7% Friday morning, adding to a 25% drop on Thursday that followed a leak of partial data on its cancer vaccine developed with Merck. CNBC notes that the full data released Thursday looked meaningful for patients and positive against Wall Street expectations, yet both stocks still faltered.
Deckers dropped 6.7% after fiscal second-quarter results late Thursday missed analyst estimates. Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 came in at $1.43 billion versus the $1.51 billion Wall Street expected, with sales at HOKA and UGG also short of FactSet expectations, according to CNBC.
Bloom Energy fell 2.5% despite beating on revenue and earnings and raising its full-year 2026 earnings per share guidance. CNBC reports that negative free cash flow for the quarter was what unsettled investors.
In Europe, Kering, the owner of Gucci, fell 12% in early trading after disappointing third-quarter results, putting it at the bottom of the Stoxx 600 and bringing its 12-month losses to 43%. Same-store sales declined 1% overall, dragged down by a 6% drop at Gucci, its largest brand, CNBC reports.
Investors will be watching whether oil holds above $100 and whether Treasury yields keep climbing, since both feed directly into how the AI trade is valued.
