US pre-open: Futures mixed as tech slides on AI spending fears
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 15 Oct 2026
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the opening bell on Thursday with tech under pressure once again as investors reacted to fresh concerns over AI‑related spending and a hawkish shift in rate expectations.
As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.25%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were down 0.33% and 1.17%, respectively.
The Dow closed 48.62 points lower on Wednesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session, as traders digested September's consumer price report and another batch of bank earnings.
As for Thursday's pre-market moves, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was sharply lower as worries mounted that major tech groups were overspending on artificial‑intelligence infrastructure, adding fresh pressure to a sector already under scrutiny.
Neocloud firm CoreWeave, which tumbled 15% on Wednesday, was down more than 5% in pre-market, amid concerns that the company was borrowing too much to fund its AI build-out.
Equities were also weighed down by renewed concerns over the Federal Reserve's policy path after data showed US consumer prices rose faster than expected in September on an annual basis, prompting fears the central bank could tighten more aggressively before year‑end.
In terms of earnings, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing beat expectations with another blowout quarter, delivering a sixth straight record profit as heavy AI‑related spending continued to drive demand. TSMC's net income surged 69% year‑on‑year to NTD $763.1bn (£23.6bn) and revenues jumped 51% to NTD $1.5trn.
Elsewhere, BNY Mellon also topped forecasts, posting Q3 EPS of $2.37, $0.11 ahead of consensus, with revenues rising to $5.68bn against expectations of $5.55bn, adding to the week's run of stronger‑than‑expected bank earnings.
On the macro front, weekly jobless claims from the Labor Department will be published at 1330 BST, as will September's producer price index and retail sales numbers, while August business inventories figures will follow at 1500 BST.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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