US stocks steady after Thursday's tech selloff as futures point higher, 24 July 2026
Sentiment: mixed US futures: S&P 500 +0.26%, Nasdaq 100 +0.18%, Dow +0.43%
US stocks open Friday 24 July 2026 trying to steady after Thursday's selloff, when the S&P 500 fell 1.21% to 7,408.30 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.15% to 25,137.69 as the largest technology names flagged rising AI spending. Tesla TSLA.US fell 14.52% and Alphabet GOOGL.US 7.13% after both lifted their capital-spending plans, and the Magnificent Seven shed about $800 billion in market value in a single session. Futures point higher into the open, with S&P 500 futures up 0.26% and Dow futures up 0.43%, as crude eased 2.68% and the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.68% while new Section 301 tariffs of 10% to 12.5% took effect at 12:01am ET.
Overnight drivers
- Big tech earnings: Alphabet GOOGL.US and Tesla TSLA.US led Thursday's 1.21% S&P 500 drop, both falling on rising AI budgets. Amazon AMZN.US lost 4.57% and Meta META.US 3.36% the same session.
- Section 301 tariffs: New US duties of 10% on 14 economies and 12.5% on 46 others took effect at 12:01am ET, targeting about 60 countries and replacing the 10% reciprocal tariff that expired the same day. Energy imports are exempt, and futures are treating it as a known successor measure rather than an escalation.
- Oil and yields easing: WTI crude fell 2.68% to US$89.72 and the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.68%, unwinding two of Thursday's pressures and helping futures firm.
- Intel beat: Intel INTC.US rose 3.54% pre-market to US$103.78 after a Q2 report late Thursday that topped revenue and earnings estimates.
Where Wall Street closed (Thursday)
The S&P 500 closed at 7,408.30 on 23 July 2026, down 90.66 points or 1.21%, its steepest single-session loss in a month.
- S&P 500: 7,408.30 (-1.21%)
- Nasdaq Composite: 25,137.69 (-2.15%)
- Dow Jones: 51,711.65 (-0.97%)
- Russell 2000: 2,940.16 (-0.67%)
- VIX: 18.70 (+12%)
Selling concentrated in growth and technology, where the Nasdaq's 2.15% fall more than doubled the Dow's 0.97% decline. The VIX rose about 12% to 18.70 as the Magnificent Seven's $800 billion drawdown pulled index-weight names lower.
Overnight Asia and Europe
Asian markets closed Friday lower after catching Thursday's Wall Street selloff, led by South Korea's KOSPI, which fell 5.72% to 6,690.62 as chipmakers tracked the US technology decline.
- KOSPI (South Korea): 6,690.62 (-5.72%)
- Nikkei 225 (Japan): 64,611.15 (-2.73%)
- Shanghai Composite: 3,814.20 (-1.61%)
- Hang Seng (Hong Kong): 24,963.23 (-0.98%)
- ASX 200 (Australia): 8,772.30 (-0.75%)
European markets trade higher in Friday morning dealing, diverging from Asia as US futures firm. Germany's DAX is up 0.79%, the Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.75%, France's CAC 40 up 0.42% and the UK's FTSE 100 up 0.36%.
Commodities and rates
WTI crude fell 2.68% to US$89.72 and Brent 2.45% to US$91.95, easing part of Thursday's oil spike on Middle East tensions. Gold rose 0.30% to US$4,062/oz. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.68% and the US Dollar Index held at 101.44.
Pre-market movers
- Intel INTC.US +3.54% to US$103.78: Q2 revenue of US$16.1 billion beat the US$14.4 billion consensus and grew 25% year on year, the fastest in almost 15 years, with adjusted EPS of US$0.42 against US$0.21 expected. Data-center and AI revenue rose 59% to US$6.3 billion and foundry 31% to US$5.8 billion. Q3 guidance of US$0.38 adjusted EPS on US$15.8 to US$16.8 billion revenue also topped estimates.
- American Express AXP.US -3.75% to US$328: Q2 EPS of US$4.53 rose 11% and beat the US$4.40 consensus, revenue climbed 10% to US$19.6 billion, and the company raised full-year revenue growth guidance to 10%. The unchanged full-year EPS view of US$17.30 to US$17.90 capped the reaction after a strong run into the print.
- Verizon VZ.US -1.67% to US$43.09: The carrier reported Q2 before the bell, with investors focused on postpaid phone net additions after a soft first quarter of 55,000.
- Tesla TSLA.US +0.59% and Alphabet GOOGL.US +0.31% steadied in pre-market trade after Thursday's falls, while Microsoft MSFT.US rose 1.25%.
US economic calendar today (ET)
- 09:45 ET: S&P Global flash manufacturing and services PMIs for July
- 10:00 ET: New home sales for June
What to watch
- The Nasdaq's 2.15% fall against the Dow's 0.97% decline shows the selling sat in growth and technology, and a durable bounce depends on whether the largest names hold their pre-market gains.
- The 10-year yield at 4.68% and WTI at US$89.72 both eased overnight, and a renewed move higher in either would test the recovery.
- Section 301 duties are now live, putting import-heavy sectors and any retaliation from the 60 targeted economies in focus.
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