S&P futures edge up as tech stocks drag the index toward a weekly loss

Friday’s S&P 500 futures ticked up 0.2%, yet the index is likely to end the week in negative territory after a sell-off in technology and AI-linked equities. Semiconductor shares led the decline, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF slipping 0.7% and companies like Micron, AMD and Sandisk among the biggest drags. The fund has already fallen 7.4% this week, reflecting investor fears of rising Chinese competition.

Tesla rose roughly 3%, providing the only notable upside. Jeff Richards of Notable Capital said the AI market’s opacity, due to many firms remaining private, fuels investor anxiety, which could ease if companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI go public. Inflation data showing the fastest wholesale price rise since 2022 and persistently high consumer inflation kept pressure on markets, while energy costs stayed elevated after the U.S.-Iran conflict. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, speaking in Bangkok at an IMF gathering, gave no hint of imminent rate hikes, leading traders to price an 85% chance of an unchanged policy rate at the upcoming meeting.