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U.S. stock index futures ticked higher on Friday, recovering part of the sharp losses seen in the previous session, even as Amazon shares slid after the company flagged a much larger-than-expected capital spending plan for 2026.
At 05:55 ET (10:55 GMT), Dow Jones futures rose 130 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.6%.
Wall Street ended Thursday on a weak note, with the Nasdaq Composite falling 1.6%, the S&P 500 losing 1.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping more than 500 points. The Nasdaq is on track for its worst weekly performance since early April, down about 4%, while the S&P 500 has shed roughly 2%. The Dow is little changed on the week.
Amazon weighs on tech sentiment with massive AI spending plans
Technology stocks have been under pressure as investors reassess the scale and payoff of artificial intelligence investments. Amazon added to those concerns after the bell on Thursday, forecasting capital expenditures of around $200 billion in 2026 — far above analyst expectations of roughly $146 billion.
The outlook reinforced fears that Big Tech is accelerating, rather than slowing, its AI spending. Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta are now expected to collectively invest more than $630 billion this year in data centers, chips and AI infrastructure.
While Amazon’s AWS cloud unit posted strong growth, with revenue up 24% to $35.6 billion, investors focused on the ballooning costs and uncertainty over when returns on AI investments will materialize. Amazon shares fell sharply in premarket trading.
Earnings due later Friday include results from Under Armour, Biogen, AutoNation and Philip Morris.
Labor market concerns linger; Michigan sentiment awaited
Economic worries also remain in focus. Data this week showed a sharp rise in January layoffs, the highest since the 2009 financial crisis, while jobless claims and job openings both disappointed.
Although signs of labor market cooling could strengthen the case for future Federal Reserve rate cuts, uncertainty persists around the policy outlook under Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the next Fed chair.
With the official jobs report delayed until next week following the recent government shutdown, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey for February is the key data release due later Friday.
Oil prices stabilize but head for weekly losses
Oil prices edged higher on Friday but were still set for their first weekly decline in nearly two months, as traders awaited the outcome of U.S.-Iran talks scheduled in Oman later in the day.
Brent crude rose 0.1% to $67.61 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 0.1% to $64.34. Despite the modest rebound, Brent was on track for a weekly drop of about 3.3%, with WTI down around 1.8%.
Markets have pared back some geopolitical risk premium this week, hoping that negotiations between Washington and Tehran will ease tensions and reduce the risk of a broader conflict in the Middle East.
