Dow Futures Slide as Tech Rout Deepens Before Inflation Test

​Futures Drift Lower After Nvidia Shock
US stock futures fell Friday morning as Wall Street struggled to regain its footing after a sharp tech sell-off. Dow futures led the decline, down about zero point five percent, while S&P 500 futures slipped zero point three percent and Nasdaq 100 futures shed zero point two percent. The weakness follows a bruising session for chip stocks, with Nvidia tumbling roughly five and a half percent despite delivering strong earnings — a sign that investors are growing more skeptical about how long the AI boom can power markets.

AI Optimism Meets Hard Questions
The AI trade continues to dominate the tape, but the tone is shifting. Nvidia’s drop snapped a long winning streak and reignited concerns that sky-high spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure may not be sustainable at current levels. Meanwhile, CoreWeave shares slid after the company said capital expenditures could double in 2026 to between thirty and thirty-five billion dollars as it ramps up data center buildouts and purchases more Nvidia chips. Big ambitions are colliding with margin pressure.

Corporate Crosscurrents
Not every AI-adjacent name struggled. Block surged more than twenty percent in premarket trading after CEO Jack Dorsey announced the company would cut nearly half its workforce, shrinking from over ten thousand employees to just under six thousand. He framed the move as a pivot toward an AI-driven operating model, arguing that many companies will soon follow. Dell also jumped after forecasting fiscal 2027 revenue above expectations, projecting AI server sales to grow more than one hundred percent to around fifty billion dollars.

All Eyes on Inflation
​Beyond earnings and AI headlines, the next catalyst is macro. January’s producer price index is due later Friday, with economists expecting headline wholesale inflation to rise zero point three percent for the month, and core PPI — excluding food and energy — also seen up zero point three percent. After a volatile week, markets are looking for reassurance that inflation remains contained. Until then, tech skepticism and rate uncertainty are keeping futures under pressure.