U.S. stocks were mixed on Friday, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 index futures moving in different directions after Thursday’s lower close.
Investors will watch October’s nonfarm payrolls report scheduled to be released ahead of the opening bell.
Asian markets tumbled Friday after a sharp selloff in U.S. technology stocks spread to chipmakers across the region, with South Korea’s KOSPI plunging more than 6% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling around 6%.
President Donald Trump is weighing whether to resume military strikes against Iran, maintain economic pressure, or pursue a negotiated settlement, according to Axios, after Republicans suffered a sweeping midterm election defeat. Trump said he would soon decide on the approach and met with top national security advisers to discuss Iran for the first time since the midterm elections, the report said.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.83%, and the 2-year Treasury bond yielded 4.47%, at the last check. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing in a 69.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates after its December meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
|---|---|
| Dow Jones | -0.62% |
| S&P 500 | 0.51% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 1.82% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.22% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA), which track the S&P 500 index, Nasdaq 100 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average, respectively, were mixed in premarket trading on Friday. The SPY was up 0.67% at $737.91, the QQQ advanced 2.01% to $660.04, and the DIA fell 0.60% to $511.16.
Stocks In Focus
Airbnb
- Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) was up 11.98% in premarket trading on Friday after reporting third-quarter 2026 earnings after the closing bell on Thursday and beating estimates. It reported EPS of $3.16 versus $2.85 and revenue of $4.87 billion versus $4.75 billion.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ABNB maintains a positive price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong growth score.
Cloudflare
- Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE:NET) was 14.84% higher in premarket trading on Friday after it reported third-quarter 2026 earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, beating estimates. It reported EPS of $0.38 versus $0.34 and revenue of $782.51 million versus $738.53 million.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that NET maintains a negative price trend in the short and medium terms but a positive trend in the long term, with a weak momentum score.
Lam Research
- Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ:LRCX) was 10.06% higher in premarket trading on Friday after the company announced a $25 billion buyback.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that LRCX maintains a negative price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong quality score.
Monster Beverage
- Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:MNST) was 2.79% lower in premarket trading on Friday despite meeting third-quarter 2026 earnings estimates after the closing bell on Thursday. It reported EPS of $0.30 versus $0.30 and revenue of $2.56 billion versus $2.50 billion.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MNST maintains a positive price trend in the short and long terms but a negative trend in the medium term, with a poor value score.
Five9
- Five9 Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVN) was 16.51% lower in premarket trading on Friday despite beating third-quarter 2026 earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, beating estimates. Shares fell as the company cut its FY26 adjusted EPS guidance below estimates and issued fourth-quarter EPS guidance below estimates.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that FIVN maintains a negative price trend in the short and medium terms but a positive trend in the long term, with a strong growth score.
Cues From Last Session
U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow down over 1800 points. Information technology, industrials and consumer discretionary led the laggards among S&P 500 sectors.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | -3.44% | 51,523.06 |
| S&P 500 | -4.36% | 7,353.73 |
| Nasdaq Composite | -5.52% | 24,315.00 |
| Russell 2000 | -4.45% | 2,729.89 |
Insights From Analysts
Luke Lango, technology analyst and editor of Innovation Investor, said the AI trade is “in transition” after stocks “got clobbered, with the Nasdaq down more than 5%,” adding, “There was no single new headline.”
He said “they’ll slow (though not stop) their spending,” citing drained cash flows, cooled lab revenue growth, and disappointment in core businesses at Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), alongside midterm-driven “red tape to big data center states.”
Lango said his updated work sees hyperscaler capex roughly in line with Street estimates for 2027 but “4%–7% below in 2028 and 2029,” and AI chip earnings “about 13% below consensus in 2028 and 2029,” with a worst case where “2028 sector EPS could be cut nearly in half.”
He also pointed to technicals, saying, “The SOX is set to close below its 50-week moving average for the first time this cycle,” and argued for reducing AI exposure now to sidestep “another 20%–30% drawdown” and buy a bottom “likely around mid-2027.”
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Friday.
- October’s nonfarm payrolls employment report, unemployment rate, and hourly earnings data will all be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem will speak at 9:10 a.m. ET.
- November’s preliminary University of Michigan consumer survey data will be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.
- Fed Governor Michelle Bowman will speak at 12:15 p.m., and September’s consumer credit data will be released by 3:00 p.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude Oil WTI futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.82% to hover around $89.78 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.64% to hover around $97.66 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.18% to hover around $4,078.10 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.48% higher at the 102.0036 level.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.21% higher at $76,128 per coin over the last 24 hours.
Asian markets were mixed on Friday, as Australia’s ASX 200, South Korea’s Kospi, China’s CSI 300, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices fell. India’s Nifty 50 index rose. European markets were lower in early trading.
