Futures wobble before PCE as AI darlings stumble; Nvidia risk headlines, Dell and Marvell pressure tech - The Finance Tutorial

The Finance Tutorial

Independent news platform covering economic developments and capital markets in the United States and abroad, delivering accurate, timely, and relevant updates for a global audience.

Breaking

Home Top Ad

Friday, August 29, 2025

Futures wobble before PCE as AI darlings stumble; Nvidia risk headlines, Dell and Marvell pressure tech


U.S. stock index futures softened early Friday, with weakness concentrated in tech after fresh cracks appeared in the AI-heavy leadership group. Marvell Technology slumped in premarket trade when executives flagged choppier-than-hoped demand from cloud customers for its custom AI chips, rattling the market’s smooth-sailing narrative for data-center growth. Dell Technologies fell as well, with guidance that failed to keep up with the exuberance surrounding AI-linked servers and PCs. The two names became the morning’s weather vane for the Nasdaq, which underperformed S&P 500 and Dow futures into the 8:30 a.m. ET economic release.
That release—the Personal Income & Outlays report—will serve as the day’s fulcrum. Investors are fixated on the core PCE price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, to gauge whether disinflation is advancing fast enough to justify a rate cut at the September meeting. Consensus points to a year-over-year rate hovering in the upper-2% bracket, neither hot enough to shut the door on easing nor cool enough to lock in an aggressive sequence of cuts. The calendar stays busy after the bell rings: Chicago’s regional PMI lands at 9:45 a.m. ET, followed by the University of Michigan’s final August sentiment at 10:00 a.m. ET—both capable of nudging expectations for growth and pricing power heading into autumn.
Nvidia—a bellwether for the entire AI complex—remains a swing factor in the background. Beyond the company’s robust results, investors are parsing geopolitical warnings tied to China that underscore how non-fundamental risks can intrude on even the strongest narratives. With the S&P 500 and Dow still basking in record closes from Thursday and the Nasdaq chalking up another strong month, positioning is crowded, and sensitivity to any wobble in the macro or micro data is elevated.
Under the surface, month-end mechanics and cross-asset tone matter too. The dollar’s August slide has buoyed gold, which is set for a monthly gain, while front-end yields have drifted lower as traders leaned into a September cut. If core PCE comes in softer, those trends could extend—supporting longer-duration growth stocks and easing financial conditions. If the print surprises to the upside, the unwind could be abrupt: yields would likely pop, the dollar could stabilize, and the megacap cohort that led all month could face sharper profit-taking.
For now, the message is straightforward: after a run of record highs and AI-centric outperformance, the market’s next move hinges less on another blockbuster corporate headline and more on a single line in the government’s inflation tables. With futures shading lower and micro risks resurfacing in key chip names, traders are lining up for a data-dependent finish to August.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Pages