The Nightcap: futures edge up after the AI sell-off, carriers fall 6.5% on SpaceX spectrum deal
S&P 500 futures are 0.07% higher at 9:02 PM ET after a day when the Nasdaq 100 lost 1.39%. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile were down about 6.5% after hours on SpaceX's spectrum purchase.
The biggest overnight story is in telecom, not the indexes. SpaceX said it will buy up to 14 MHz of paired 800 MHz spectrum from Grain Management, pending FCC approval, and the three big U.S. carriers fell between 6.4% and 6.6% in extended trading, according to Nasdaq quotes we read at 6:50 PM ET. CNBC reported the deal; no price has been disclosed. Our fuller account is in the SpaceX story.
Nasdaq's pages showed no new extended-hours prints when we checked at 9:02 PM ET, so treat the 6:50 PM figures as the last we have. Thin after-hours trading can narrow or widen by the open.
Futures at 9:02 PM ET
| Instrument | Level | Change on our board | Thursday cash close |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 futures | 7,784.2 | +0.07% | 7,765.36 (-0.47%) |
| Nasdaq 100 futures | 30,776.4 | -0.11% | 30,725.81 (-1.39%) |
| Dow futures | 51,358.6 | +0.16% | 51,231.64 (+0.10%) |
| Russell 2000 | 2,803.4 | +0.31% | 2,794.13 (+0.03%) |
| Gold | $4,147 | +0.32% | $4,159.60 (futures settle, +0.46%) |
Quotes from the Chronicle markets board, taken at 9:02 PM ET; cash closes from Yahoo Finance. The board's percent change is measured against its own prior reference, which is why it can differ in sign from the gap to the cash close. Futures also trade above cash because of carrying costs, so a few points of difference is not a signal.
The AI sell-off has not been undone
Nasdaq 100 futures are only about 50 points above the cash close, so none of Thursday's 1.39% drop has been recovered. It was triggered by an OpenAI disclosure of roughly $50 billion in annualized revenue against the $68 billion widely reported before, which CNBC said included partners' gross revenue. See our OpenAI story.
Rates, oil and the dollar
The Treasury's official curve had the 10-year at 5.22% at Thursday's close, with the 2-year at 4.75% and the 30-year at 5.60%. Our board shows the 10-year note future at 104.901, essentially unchanged. WTI is $92.68 and Brent $106.65 on the board, against settlements of $90.78 and $103.46 on Yahoo futures data, so oil is trading higher after the Hormuz tanker attacks and Hurricane Isaias headlines covered in our Gulf production story. The dollar index is 101.75, down 0.06%.
Other headlines tonight
- The Federal Reserve Board announced an enforcement action against American Express over anti-money-laundering controls. Our read is in this story.
- Starbucks declined to comment on a report that it explored a Chipotle takeover, saying it is focused on its turnaround, per Reuters headlines. See our story.
- Bitcoin is $81,756, down 1.57% over 24 hours, and Ether is $2,474.52, down 3.96%, per Coinbase quotes on our board.
What to watch Friday
Our calendar has no major U.S. data release listed for Friday. Next week's tests are September CPI on October 14 (core CPI was 0.3% the prior month) and retail sales on October 15, then the Fed meeting on October 27-28. Early Friday, watch whether the carriers hold their after-hours losses at the open and whether chip names stabilize. See the economic calendar.
Sources: Chronicle markets board, Yahoo Finance, U.S. Treasury, CNBC, Reuters, Nasdaq.com, Federal Reserve, Coinbase. Quotes may be delayed. This is market information, not investment advice.
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