Wall Street wobbles at open as big tech selloff, US shutdown weigh on sentiment

Wall Street indices slipped on Friday as big tech names lost steam, dragging the broader market down.

The S&P 500 fell about 0.5%, the Nasdaq dropped 0.8%, and the Dow slid roughly 190 points, or 0.4%, putting all three on track for a down week.

Artificial intelligence valuations have become the central concern, with heavyweight tech stocks, particularly Nvidia, AMD, and other AI infrastructure plays, leading the charge downward throughout the week.

On top of this, weak labor market data revealing the highest job cuts for any October since 2003 has spooked investors who are already nervous about the economy.

The 38-day government shutdown, now the longest in US history, has left policymakers and traders flying blind without critical economic data.

Wall Street open: What happened in pre-market trading?

Friday's pre-market session opened with the usual suspects heading south.

S&P 500 futures dropped 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4%, and Dow futures declined 0.3%, reflecting widespread caution ahead of the opening bell.

The weakness follows Thursday's brutal close, when the Nasdaq tumbled 1.9%, the S&P 500 fell 1.1%, and the Dow slipped 0.8%.

Major artificial intelligence firms took the biggest hits yesterday.

Nvidia shed 3.7%, Advanced Micro Devices plunged 7.3%, and Palantir Technologies dropped 6.8%, wiping out billions in market value over the past few days.​

The one bright spot in pre-market action has been Tesla.

The electric vehicle maker's stock climbed 0.7% in early trading after shareholders overwhelmingly approved Elon Musk's $1 trillion compensation package, with an impressive 75% voting in favor.

The massive pay deal will be structured in 12 tranches tied to ambitious milestones, including achieving a $2 trillion market cap and delivering 20 million vehicles.

While the approval shows investor confidence in Musk's vision for AI and robotics, it stands out as a rare piece of good news in an otherwise dismal week for equities.​

What Wall Street should be watching today

The elephant in the room isn't what's happening today; it's what's coming next Wednesday.

Nvidia is set to report fiscal 2026 third-quarter earnings on November 19 after market close, and this report could be the catalyst that either stabilizes the market or accelerates the selloff.

Wall Street is expecting adjusted earnings per share of $1.25, a 54% year-over-year increase, along with revenue of $54.77 billion.

Any miss on these numbers or disappointing guidance could extend the AI rotation further.

Beyond Nvidia, investors are eyeing the government shutdown as the real threat.

Legislators are scrambling to bring the 38-day stalemate to an end, with Senate Republicans proposing a plan to extend the funding deadline beyond November 21.

More immediately, flight restrictions are being implemented today due to staffing shortages caused by the shutdown.

The bigger concern is that without official economic data, the Fed has less information to make its December interest rate decision.

Some analysts remain cautiously optimistic that a rate cut in December, combined with the resolution of the shutdown and tariff issues, could spark a year-end rally. ​