The futures market showed a slight decline in early trading on Friday, with Dow Jones futures, S&P 500 futures, and Nasdaq futures all edging lower. Notable earnings movers included Netflix (NFLX) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). However, a glitch in an update from CrowdStrike (CRWD) caused a global IT outage through Microsoft cloud servers, affecting various services worldwide. CrowdStrike clarified that it was not a cyberattack and has already implemented a fix. Despite this, CRWD stock plummeted in premarket trade, while competitors experienced some gains. Microsoft also saw a modest decline as a result.
There were reports suggesting that President Joe Biden may be considering dropping out of the re-election race, which could introduce new uncertainty into financial markets. On the other hand, former President Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination in a prime time address. Earnings reports are also in focus, with companies like American Express, Travelers Cos., Schlumberger, Halliburton, and Badger Meter releasing results on Friday.
The broader stock market saw losses on Thursday, led by the Dow Jones Industrial Average and small caps. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell, it managed to pare some losses toward the end of the session. Various stocks, including Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Tesla, showed noteworthy movements ahead of earnings reports. It is suggested that investors should exercise caution during this period of heightened volatility and uncertain market direction.
