U.S. Stock Futures Fall amid AI Concerns, January Wholesale Inflation Report

FomoAnxiety · 2026-03-01T13:42:16+00:00

U.S. stock futures fell as investor concerns about AI disruption and inflation rose. Major indexes showed mixed results, with tech stocks particularly affected. Netflix and Block saw positive trading, while Zscaler and CoreWeave reported disappointing earnings.

FomoAnxiety

2026-03-01 13:42:16

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U.S. stock futures fell on Friday morning as investors remain concerned about AI-led disruption to sectors like software and financials, as well as fears of an AI bubble. Even chip giant Nvidia’s NVDA -4.16% ▼ stellar earnings failed to lift investor sentiment. Meanwhile, investors reacted negatively to January’s producer price index (PPI) reading. The measure of wholesale inflation rose 0.5% (headline PPI) for the month, higher than the 0.3% expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 1.00%, 0.92%, and 1.20%, respectively, at 8:45 a.m. EST on February 27.

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During Thursday’s regular trading, the three major indexes traded mixed. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.54% and 1.18%, respectively, while the Dow Jones eked out a small gain of 0.03%. Friday marks the final trading day of February, a turbulent month that shook tech stocks amid fears of AI disruption.

Turning to trending stocks, Netflix NFLX +13.77% ▲ stock rallied 8.3% in Friday’s pre-market trading after the streaming giant decided not to raise its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s WBD -2.19% ▼ assets to match a new bid from Paramount Skydance PSKY +20.84% ▲ . Shares of PSKY were up 7.7% in reaction to the news.

Meanwhile, Block XYZ +16.82% ▲ stock rallied 20% after the fintech announced that it is laying off 4,000 employees. Also, the company issued a solid outlook for Q1 2026 and the full year. Dell Technologies DELL +21.93% ▲ stock surged 12%, driven by upbeat Q4 results. However, shares of cybersecurity company Zscaler ZS -12.17% ▼ tanked more than 11% after its Q2 FY26 deferred revenue and billings missed expectations.

Also, CoreWeave CRWV -18.51% ▼ stock dropped 12% as the AI-powered cloud company’s Q4 adjusted EBITDA lagged the Street’s estimates.

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