US stock futures inched lower after Amazon (AMZN) joined Google (GOOG) and other AI-focused Big Tech companies with disappointing projections for the next year.
Futures attached to the major indexes all were slightly lower on open. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) hovered around the flatline, while S&P 500 (ES=F) and Nasdaq (NQ=F) futures inched 0.1% lower.
Earnings season has been dominated by AI discussions after DeepSeek shook the industry. Focus on sky-high costs for AI development at Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) has led to investor reticence to continue footing the bill without seeing tangible results.
Amazon’s earnings provided the latest entry in that narrative, as the tech behemoth disappointed with its outlook. Shares dropped around 4% after the bell Thursday, following on similar post-earnings movements from Google and AMD (AMD) earlier this week.
While landmark companies suffered losses, AI has allowed some to crack open the market, with Palantir’s (PLTR) military analytics business popping 10% Thursday, adding to a big rally this week. Pinterest (PINS) also harnessed AI to boost ad sales, posting a 19% leap in extended trading.
A week of unpredictable tariff news from President Donald Trump has kept traders on their toes while pushing some onto stable assets. With stocks getting battered, safe-haven gold (GC=F) has seen all-time highs, pulling back after the close Thursday.
Meanwhile, Trump has set his eyes on hedge funds by announcing his intent to close a loophole that allows fund managers to pay capital gains tax instead of income tax on money received through investment businesses.
Come Friday morning, all eyes will turn to the January jobs report to provide a pulse check on the health of the US economy and labor market. Economists expect hiring to have slowed last month but remain robust.
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