Before the bell: Nasdaq futures sink 1.7% as AI worries return and WTI tops $101

U.S. stock futures fell sharply early Thursday as worries about the AI trade resurfaced and oil climbed. On the Chronicle markets board at 6:31 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures were down 0.96% at 7,691.6, Nasdaq-100 futures down 1.68% at 29,360.8 and Dow futures down 0.65% at 52,567.5. Russell 2000 futures were off 0.72%. CNBC reported that Nasdaq futures were down as much as 1.8% as investors weighed earnings from Meta and Tesla. The losses came after Wednesday's session, when the Nasdaq Composite closed 1% higher; our close report has the details.

Earnings: Meta up, Tesla down

CNBC said Meta shares were up 0.74% in premarket trading after a revenue beat and strong guidance for the current quarter, while Tesla was down 4.59%. Tesla earned 48 cents a share on an adjusted basis on revenue of $28.05 billion, against LSEG estimates of 43 cents and $27.88 billion. See our reports on Meta's stock split and spending plan and Tesla's quarter. Our report on AT&T, Texas Instruments, Lam Research and IBM covers the other after-hours movers.

Barclays reported third-quarter pre-tax profit of £2.3 billion, up 12% and in line with forecasts, and announced a £500 million buyback, according to CNBC. The Wall Street Journal and Reuters headlines both put planned job cuts at 5,000 as the bank leans on AI for cost savings.

Asia and Europe

CNBC reported that Asian stocks tumbled on Thursday, led by technology shares. The Topix lost 1.1% and South Korea's small-cap Kosdaq fell 3.6%. China's CSI 300 entered a bear market, down 20% from its June peak after 10 straight weekly declines; see our report. In London, the continent's main bourses opened mostly lower, with banks and technology names down more than 1.7% in early trading. French borrowing costs stayed under pressure after Wednesday's move above 5% on the 10-year.

Oil, gold and the dollar

The Chronicle board had WTI crude up 1.57% at $101.17 a barrel and Brent up 1.86% at $112.88 at 6:31 a.m. ET. The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times both led with oil rising more than 2% on attacks on Saudi Arabia and U.S.-Iran risks. Gold fell 1.2% to $4,091 an ounce and silver dropped 3.26% to $56.08; the Journal's headline tied gold's slide to rising energy costs and inflation concerns. The dollar index was little changed at 101.31.

The same oil-and-rates logic hit Norway's sovereign wealth fund. It reported a third-quarter loss of 278 billion kroner (about $29.7 billion) on fixed income returning negative 3.5%, CNBC reported, with rising rates the main drag and energy the best-performing equity sector.

Rates and today's calendar

The Treasury's official Wednesday closes were 5.13% on the 10-year, 4.81% on the 2-year and 5.42% on the 30-year, from 5.12%, 4.79% and 5.42% on Tuesday. The board's live reading showed the 10-year at 5.12%, with the 10-year note future up 0.35%. Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage survey is also due today; the board's latest 30-year reading is 7.4%.

At 8:30 a.m. ET, weekly initial jobless claims are on our economic calendar, with a forecast of 200,000. Companies reporting include Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin, Valero Energy and Honeywell, per CNBC. Friday brings the flash S&P Global composite PMI, and the Fed meets October 28, where the funds rate stands at 3.875%.

Crypto

On the Chronicle board at 6:31 a.m. ET, Coinbase had Bitcoin at $81,964.72, down 1.59% over 24 hours, and Ether at $2,408.81, down 1.85%. Live prices: crypto prices.

Sources: CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Reuters headlines, U.S. Treasury, Chronicle markets board and Coinbase Exchange (quotes at 6:31 a.m. ET, may be delayed). Premarket moves can reverse and early volume is thin. This is market information, not investment advice.