Nasdaq Futures Hit by AI Fears as Brent Nears $112: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — A selloff in technology stocks hit equity markets as concerns resurfaced over whether vast investments in artificial intelligence will pay off for investors. Brent rose toward $112 a barrel, sending bond yields higher.
Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1.4%. The pullback came after the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI recently failed to meet its goals for new users and sales. SoftBank Group Corp., a key backer of ChatGPT’s owner, slumped 9.9% in Tokyo. Nvidia Corp. was set to drop 3.5% from a record high. US-based OpenAI partners including Oracle Corp. and CoreWeave Inc. fell in premarket trading.
Brent advanced for a seventh straight day as the Strait of Hormuz remained shut. The gains held after the United Arab Emirates announced it will exit OPEC. The White House said President Donald Trump will address a proposal from Iran to resume oil flows through the waterway “very soon.” The dollar rose the most in a week, while S&P 500 contracts were 0.8% lower.
Tech stocks are under pressure again following the end of an 18-day advance in chipmakers. Resurgent optimism about AI stood behind the charge as the rest of the market lagged due to rising oil prices. Wednesday’s earnings from four hyperscalers will offer the rally another test.
“A key test for whether this rally is running out of steam will be how markets react to strong results,” said Anna Macdonald, investment strategy director at Hargreaves Lansdown. “When earnings beats for AI hardware names stop being rewarded, that’s perhaps the first sign that positioning has run too far.”
Europe led losses in global bonds on worries that rising oil prices will push inflation higher and prompt central banks to tighten policy. Euro-area consumers saw prices soaring 4% over the next 12 months, up from 2.5% in February, according to a European Central Bank survey.
The yield on two-year Italian bonds headed for the highest level in three weeks. The rate on similar UK gilts advanced eight basis points to 4.46%. The 10-year Treasury yield was three basis points higher at 4.37%.
Ahead of this week’s policy meetings by the Federal Reserve, ECB and Bank of England, traders expect officials to keep rates on hold. The outlook gets cloudier for subsequent meetings, with everything hinging on the duration of the Middle East war. Money markets see the ECB and BOE hiking as soon as June, while odds are for the Fed to keep rates on hold for the rest of the year.
“Time is the key variable,” said Laura Cooper, head of macro credit at Nuveen. “Our base case is for oil flows to begin normalising by mid-May, supporting a $100 average price for Brent in 2026. But if the conflict drags on and prices stay elevated, it will start to feed more meaningfully into the data, as we’ve already seen in April PMIs.”
Earnings Warning
With the earnings season in full swing, reports across the industrial, materials and energy sectors have highlighted the headwinds posed by high commodity prices and rising logistics costs. The worries have so far been concealed by the rapid advance in tech stocks, but some analysts warn there’s a risk of bitter surprises ahead.
“Big Tech is once again priced to perfection into earnings, leaving little margin for disappointment,” wrote Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote. “Strong results could continue to mask underlying economic weakness for a while, but any disappointment could derail tech appetite at a time when non-tech names are unable to pick up the slack.”
Corporate Highlights:
Spotify Technology SA, the music streaming leader, reported results that underwhelmed Wall Street, forecasting operating income in the current quarter that missed analysts’ estimates. Barclays Plc traders struggled to capitalize on a volatile quarter, with returns falling short of US rivals that benefited from exposure to commodities markets. BP Plc said earnings jumped in the first quarter as the Iran war led to a surge in profits from its oil trading operation and spiraling energy prices. General Motors Co. raised its profit outlook for the year by $500 million, saying its pickups and sport utility vehicles continue to sell even as gasoline prices soar due to the war in Iran. United Parcel Service Inc. left its financial guidance unchanged despite topping Wall Street’s first-quarter sales and profit expectations, underscoring the uncertainty that remains for the courier’s plan to overhaul its delivery network. Coca-Cola Co. posted first-quarter sales that beat Wall Street expectations, buoyed by brisk purchases of smaller sizes and price increases.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures fell 0.8% as of 8:30 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.4% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.6% The MSCI World Index fell 0.2% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3% The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1689 The British pound fell 0.5% to $1.3474 The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 159.65 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 1% to $76,195.73 Ether fell 0.8% to $2,272.53 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.37% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 3.08% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 5.02% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 4.1% to $100.34 a barrel Spot gold fell 2.3% to $4,573.38 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Neil Campling.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
