U.S. stock index futures moved higher Friday morning as technology shares attempted a rebound and crude oil prices retreated, providing relief to investors after artificial intelligence concerns triggered broad declines in the previous session.
Contracts tied to the Nasdaq-100 index gained 0.8 percent, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.4 percent, according to Yahoo Finance. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2 percent. The modest recovery followed a turbulent Thursday on Wall Street, when the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed lower by 1.4 percent amid investor anxiety over revenue growth in the artificial intelligence sector.
Tech stabilizes after artificial intelligence forecast confusion
Market sentiment took a hit Thursday after reports emerged concerning financial projections from ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The Guardian reported that OpenAI told investors its annualized revenue would reach $50 billion this year, trailing an earlier projection of $70 billion provided to investors just last month. That initial figure was also highlighted by the Financial Times, according to Yahoo Finance.
The projected gap rattled semiconductor and enterprise software stocks during Thursday trading. Shares of Nvidia dropped 2.9 percent, Oracle slid 5.5 percent and Micron fell 4.8 percent, The Guardian reported. However, market jitters eased overnight after Bloomberg reported that OpenAI expects to meet or exceed $70 billion in annualized revenue by the end of the year, Yahoo Finance reported.
The revenue discrepancy stemmed in part from comparisons with competitor Anthropic, which reached $65 billion in forecast revenue by late July, The Guardian reported. Unlike OpenAI, Anthropic includes sales generated through cloud hosting partners such as Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. OpenAI is currently holding early talks to secure $30 billion in new capital at a $1.4 trillion valuation, while Anthropic plans an initial public offering as early as next month.
Oil slide cushions earnings disappointment
In commodities, international benchmark Brent crude declined to $102 per barrel, according to Yahoo Finance, helping lift broader equity sentiment despite pockets of weakness in early corporate earnings.
Delta Air Lines shares slipped after the carrier delivered third-quarter financial results that fell short of expectations, Yahoo Finance reported. Delta stated that elevated jet fuel expenses offset solid demand across its premium passenger operations.
Across international markets, Airtel Money, the mobile banking division of Airtel Africa, initiated conditional trading in London ahead of its formal debut on Oct. 14, CNBC reported. The offering priced 270 million shares at £1.96, giving the business an implied market value of £5.3 billion. Elsewhere, Japanese investment firm SoftBank is attempting to raise up to $100 billion from Gulf nations to expand its artificial intelligence investments, following discussions with partners including the United Arab Emirates, according to the Financial Times as reported by The Guardian.
Investors are now awaiting the release of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey to gauge how households are responding to recent energy market volatility. Wall Street will also pivot toward corporate earnings next Tuesday, when major U.S. banks are scheduled to publish quarterly results.
