US stock futures fell sharply on Friday as the retreat from artificial-intelligence winners gathered momentum and Netflix’s cautious outlook added another fault line to a stretched market.
Nasdaq 100 contracts dropped about 2%, while S&P 500 and Dow futures also weakened before the opening bell.
Memory-chip shares led the decline, extending a sell-off that has pushed the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index towards its worst week since March 2025.
The move suggests investors are no longer rewarding growth alone after a record-setting rally.
Rising volatility, renewed US-Iran fighting and fresh US-China tension added to the pressure across global markets before Friday’s session.
5 things to know before Wall Street opens
1. Memory-chip selling gathers force
SanDisk, Western Digital, Seagate and Micron fell between 4.6% and 6.5% in premarket trading, extending a second day of heavy losses.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index had already dropped 4.3% on Thursday and reached a near two-month low.
The reversal follows a record first-half run, suggesting investors are questioning whether AI infrastructure spending can keep accelerating fast enough to justify valuations.
2. Netflix guidance breaks the earnings spell
Netflix slid 9.4% after forecasting third-quarter revenue of $12.86 billion and diluted earnings of 82 cents a share, below Wall Street estimates of about $13 billion and 84 cents.
Second-quarter revenue rose 13% to $12.56 billion and operating income reached $4.19 billion, but the market focused on slowing growth and a narrower full-year sales outlook.
3. Futures signal a broad risk-off open
Dow futures fell 0.67%, S&P 500 contracts lost 1.03% and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 2.05% by 4:55 am in New York.
The VIX rose to 18.53, its highest in more than a week.
Intuitive Surgical sank about 11% despite beating quarterly estimates, another sign that investors are demanding stronger guidance rather than rewarding backward-looking results.
4. US-Iran fighting keeps oil risk elevated
Iran said it launched fresh attacks on US facilities in the Gulf after a sixth consecutive night of American strikes.
Brent and US crude were heading for weekly gains of more than 11% as reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz kept supply concerns alive. Higher energy costs could also complicate the recent improvement in US inflation.
5. Trump’s China claims threaten a fragile truce
President Donald Trump accused China of interfering in US elections, allegations Beijing rejected as groundless.
He announced no new trade measures, but the rhetoric risks unsettling a diplomatic thaw before President Xi Jinping’s expected Washington visit in September.
For markets already retreating from crowded technology trades, another source of policy uncertainty is poorly timed.
The post Dow futures plunge 360 points: 5 things to know before Wall Street opens appeared first on Invezz