Nasdaq futures sink 2.6% as Amazon and Intel cash burn deepens AI spending worries

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was set for steep losses at Friday’s open after quarterly results from Amazon and Intel added to investor concerns about the cost of the AI infrastructure build-out, Reuters reports.

The movers

• Intel tumbled more than 25% in premarket trading after warning it would burn cash this year because of a weak PC market, manufacturing bottlenecks and heavy spending to expand production.
• Amazon fell about 6.5% after reporting a sharp cash outflow in the third quarter and signalling a further rise in capital expenditure next year.
• Nvidia slipped 3.2% and AMD 8.3%. Together, Amazon and Intel were set to lose about $300 billion in market value if the losses held.

At 08:15 a.m. ET, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 2.6% and S&P 500 E-minis 1.12%, while Dow futures were nearly flat.

Flight to bonds

The rout followed a 12.6% fall in Alphabet shares on Thursday. Investors moved into government bonds: the 10-year US Treasury yield fell about 8 basis points to 4.91%, on track for its biggest one-month drop since December 2023. Oil rose more than 2% after an attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.