US Pre-Market 20 October 2026: Nasdaq Futures -0.70% as AI Stocks Slip; GM.US -6.82% Despite Earnings Beat
Sentiment: bearish S&P 500 futures: -0.27%
Nasdaq 100 futures are -0.70% and S&P 500 futures -0.27% at 8:31am ET on 20 October 2026, as AI infrastructure and memory stocks give back part of Monday's chip rebound after South Korea's KOSPI fell 3.73%. GM.US is -6.82% pre-market even though third-quarter results beat estimates and the board approved a $20 billion buyback, per CNBC. Brent is +1.52% at $111.22 and the 10-year Treasury yield holds at 5.136%, Monday's close.
Overnight drivers
- KOSPI -3.73% to 5,552.74 as foreign funds sold 605.8 billion won of Korean shares by 10:30am Seoul time, per Invezz. SK Hynix fell 3.6% at that point on concern over a possible US listing of its Solidigm memory unit. SKHY.US is -4.79% pre-market.
- AI infrastructure: CRWV.US is -5.10% and NBIS.US -5.08%, a day after Cathie Wood's ARK added CoreWeave shares across two funds, per Stocktwits. MU.US is -2.71% after reports that Micron's Taiwan union is preparing to strike on Thursday over bonuses.
- Chips: SMH.US is -1.75% after Monday's 1.61% gain ended nine straight losing sessions. AMD.US is -2.24%, INTC.US -2.21%, TSM.US -1.58% and NVDA.US -0.96%.
- Oil: Brent futures are +1.52% at $111.22 and December WTI +1.97% at $100.48. XLE.US is +0.99% and HAL.US +3.18% pre-market.
- Dollar and gold: the US Dollar Index is -0.18% at 101.80 and gold futures -0.64% at $4,133.60. Bitcoin is -1.33% at $81,411.
Monday on Wall Street
The S&P 500 closed at 7,690.73 on 19 October 2026, up 0.41%, as technology rose 1.36% and AMZN.US gained 4.98% on a Morgan Stanley top pick call.
- S&P 500: 7,690.73 (+0.41%)
- Nasdaq: 26,430.89 (+1.11%)
- Dow: 51,966.03 (-0.07%)
- Russell 2000: 2,728.30 (+0.25%)
- VIX: 18.84 (+2.17% this morning)
Utilities fell 2.01% and banks about 2% as the 10-year yield rose to 5.136% from 5.098%. QQQ.US is -0.75% and SPY.US -0.32% pre-market, which would erase most of Monday's 1.21% gain in QQQ.US.
Overnight Asia and Europe
Japan's Nikkei 225 closed at 64,075.42 on 20 October 2026, down 1.30%, as SoftBank Group fell about 3.3% early in the session and cable maker Fujikura 3.4%, per Invezz.
- Nikkei 225: 64,075.42 (-1.30%)
- KOSPI: 5,552.74 (-3.73%)
- Hang Seng: 23,867.74 (-1.32%)
- Shanghai Composite: 3,735.37 (+0.12%)
- S&P/ASX 200: 8,816.90 (-0.33%)
- STOXX 600: 635.22 (-0.68%)
- DAX: 25,104.69 (-0.85%)
- CAC 40: 7,799.86 (-0.87%)
- FTSE 100: 10,699.26 (-0.61%)
France imposed curfews after a weekend of protests over living costs, per CNBC; the CAC 40 is 7,799.86, against 7,868.05 at Monday's close. Euro Stoxx 50 futures were -0.71% during the Asian session, per Invezz.
Pre-market movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| SOLS.US | +3.94% | Financial Times reported Starboard Value built a stake |
| HAL.US | +3.18% | Adjusted EPS $0.60, up from $0.55 in the second quarter |
| MMM.US | +1.85% | Adjusted EPS $2.50 against a $2.38 LSEG estimate |
| RTX.US | +1.64% | Adjusted EPS $2.26 against a $1.78 LSEG estimate |
| NOC.US | +0.42% | EPS $7.89 beat; revenue $11.12 billion missed by $20 million |
| GM.US | -6.82% | Beat estimates and set a $20 billion buyback with no timeframe |
| CRWV.US | -5.10% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| SKHY.US | -4.79% | KOSPI selling; possible US listing of the Solidigm unit |
| STLD.US | -4.64% | Third-quarter EPS $5.26 missed a $5.41 estimate |
| GE.US | -4.44% | Free cash flow $2.04 billion against $2.2 billion expected |
- GE.US -4.44% even though GE Aerospace raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $8.00 to $8.10 from $7.65 to $7.85, per its 8-K. Orders rose 49% and adjusted EPS 36% to $2.25; free cash flow fell 14%.
- $9.72 to $10.72 is GM's new 2026 diluted EPS range, per its 8-K. Third-quarter revenue was $50.0 billion and adjusted EBIT $4.1 billion.
- AAPL.US -1.61% after Loop Capital downgraded the stock to hold from buy, citing slowing iPhone sales and valuation, per CNBC.
- STLD.US reported a customer backlog up 50% on the year, running into 2027, per CNBC.
- NFLX.US +0.34% and SPCX.US -1.34% before both report after the close. ASTS.US is -3.70% after Viasat asked the FCC to reject AST SpaceMobile's request for more overseas spectrum, per Stocktwits.
US economic calendar today (ET)
- 8:30am (released): September housing starts fell 5.2% to 1,221,000 at an annual rate against a 1.31 million consensus cited by Trading Economics, per the Census Bureau. Single-family starts fell 4.6% to 859,000 and permits 0.2% to 1,400,000.
- 10:00am: September pending home sales.
- Before the open (released): RTX, Northrop Grumman, General Motors, GE Aerospace, 3M and Halliburton.
- After the close: Netflix, SpaceX, Intuitive Surgical and United Airlines report.
- Wed 21 Oct, after the close: Meta, Tesla, Texas Instruments, IBM and Lam Research report.
What to watch
- QQQ.US -0.75% and SMH.US -1.75% pre-market against XLE.US +0.99%, the reverse of Monday, when technology rose 1.36% and energy funds fell.
- The Fed's blackout period runs to 29 October ahead of the 28 October FOMC decision.
- VIX is 18.84, up 2.17%, after Monday's 7.75% fall to 18.44.
Context only, not financial advice. Track your own trades with Swingfolio.