TSX futures drop after index falls the most in seven months

Investing.com - Futures linked to Canada’s main stock exchange ticked lower on Friday, after the average slumped to its sharpest decline in seven months in the prior session, mirroring a selloff on Wall Street.

By 07:05 ET (12:05 GMT), the S&P/TSX 60 index standard futures contract had dropped by 17 points, or 1.0%.

The S&P/TSX composite index tumbled by 1.9% to end at 30,253.64 on Thursday, retreating from a fresh record high notched on Wednesday.

Technology shares, echoing falls in shares of artificial intelligence heavyweights like Nvidia, decreased by 5.6% on a sector-wide basis. Electronic gear provider Celestica slipped by 12.3% in particular.

Along worries around a potential AI bubble forming in elevated U.S. AI tech stock valuations, sentiment was dampened by uncertainty around whether the Federal Reserve will opt to cut interest rates again at its next two-day monetary policy meeting in December.

U.S. futures point lower

U.S. stock futures slipped, suggesting to the previous session’s declines, amid scaled-back bets on a December interest rate cut and a sustained rotation out of technology stocks.

At 07:16 ET, Dow Jones Futures dropped 276 points, or 0.6%, S&P 500 Futures fell 61 points, or 0.9%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures decreased 341 points, or 1.4%.

The main averages tumbled on Thursday, recording their worst day in more than a month, as a boost from the end of the U.S. government shutdown earlier this week waned.

The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost almost 800 points, or 1.7%, retreating below the 48,000 level that it crossed for the first time on Wednesday. The broad-based S&P 500 also dropped 1.7%, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite slumped 2.3%, on track to end its seven-week win streak.

December rate cut in doubt

Hawkish comments from a number of Fed speakers have prompted investors to sharply dial back their expectations for a December interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari told Bloomberg that he opposed a rate cut last month and is on the fence about December as well.

While both Alberto Musalem, president of the St. Louis Fed, and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack expressed concern about Fed policies becoming overly accommodative with inflation still elevated.

Markets are now pricing in a roughly 50% chance for a 25 basis point cut in December, much lower than the 67.8% chance seen last week, CME’s FedWatch Tool showed.

That said, there remains a great deal of uncertainty, with investors now seeking more cues on the impact of the nearly 43-day government shutdown.

Applications for U.S. jobless benefits eased last week, according to media reports citing state-level filings, although the drop was not viewed as big enough to bolster the case for a Fed rate cut in December.

By one calculation from Haver Analytics, which was referenced by Reuters, first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to a seasonally-adjusted 227,543 in the week ended on November 8. In the prior week, the number stood at 228,899.

The figure was roughly in line with estimates provided by analysts at JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Nationwide, Reuters said.

A separate count carried out by Bloomberg News put the claims at about 226,000.

Weekly filings are typically released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but these have not been published during the data blackout caused by the more than 40-day shutdown.

Applied Materials adds to tech woes

Technology stocks have been the biggest weight on Wall Street of late, registering steep losses through October and early-November, amid growing questions over an AI-fueled valuation bubble in the sector.

Adding to this, shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) declined in premarket trading after the company warned that spending on chipmaking gear in China is anticipated to fall next year due to more stringent U.S. export controls.

The comments come after the semiconductor company flagged that its fiscal 2026 revenue faces a $600 million hit from expanded U.S. restrictions on exports of cutting-edge chip equipment to China.

On the flip side, Applied Materials noted that a rise in business expenditures on AI is likely to drive increased sales of its semiconductor gear in the second half of next year.

Quarterly results from artificial intelligence-darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) next week could be crucial in determining whether the boom in enthusiasm around -- and heavy spending on -- the nascent technology remain on track, according to analysts at Barclays.

In a note, analysts at the brokerage flagged that investor sentiment has turned largely cautious ahead of the semiconductor giant’s report after the closing bell on Wall Street on November 19.

Crude surges after Russian oil depot strike

Oil prices surged higher after a Ukrainian drone attack hit an oil depot in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, potentially impacting global supply.

Brent futures surged 1.3% to $63.81 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.5% to $59.56 a barrel.

Despite this upside, both benchmark contracts are on track for only minor gains this week after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said on Wednesday that global oil supplies will slightly exceed demand in 2026, prompting a sharp selloff.

Gold dips

Elsewhere, gold prices fell, reversing earlier gains as murkiness around a Fed December interest rate cut weighed on demand for the precious metal.

At 07:30 ET, spot gold dropped 1.4% to $4,112.38/oz and gold futures for December fell 1.8% to $4,119.36/oz.