U.S. stock index futures extended losses Thursday evening, pressured largely by weakness in semiconductor and other technology names after Nvidia’s post-earnings pullback. The evening session reflected investor concern about shareholder-return expectations for the chipmaker, and about margin and competitive dynamics across the AI server chip market.
Futures snapshot
By 19:00 ET (00:00 GMT), S&P 500 Futures had fallen 0.4% to 6,892.0 points. Nasdaq 100 Futures were down nearly 0.4% at 24,994.0 points, and Dow Jones Futures traded lower by nearly 0.6% at 49,260.0 points.
Nvidia’s strong quarter met with investor caution
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) reported robust quarterly results but still registered the session’s largest decline, sliding more than 5% during regular trade before steadying in aftermarket action. The share drop came despite the company logging bumper earnings, as questions about the pace and form of future shareholder returns weighed on sentiment. Analysts and investors also appeared to engage in profit-taking after a strong run-up into the earnings announcement.
Competitive worries contributed to the pressure. Rivals such as AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) have recently secured meaningful supply deals, including a major agreement with Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META), that signal potential competition in AI server chips. Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google also emerged in reporting as a potential competitor with its tensor chips, with media reports on Thursday saying Google had signed a multibillion-dollar deal with Meta. Those developments added to investor scrutiny of Nvidia’s outlook and margins.
The weakness in Nvidia spilled into the broader technology complex, helping push the Nasdaq Composite down 1.2% to 22,878.38 points. The S&P 500 closed 0.5% lower at 6,908.89 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished essentially flat at 49,499.20 points.
Looking at month-to-date moves, the Nasdaq was positioned to lose about 2.5% for the month, the S&P 500 was down about 0.4%, and the Dow was trading up roughly 1.2% for February, reflecting a partial rotation toward non-tech sectors.
Netflix jumps after declining to raise Warner offer
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) stood out as an aftermarket winner, rallying as much as 9% and reaching an indicated 1-1/2 month high after the company said it would not increase its offer for Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD). Warner’s board determined that an upgraded $31 a share proposal from Paramount Skydance Corp (NASDAQ:PSKY) represented the superior offer.
Netflix said that matching Paramount’s higher price would make the transaction "no longer financially attractive," and therefore it would not pursue an increased bid. Under the terms mentioned, if Warner selects Paramount’s proposal, Netflix would be entitled to a $2.8 billion termination fee from Paramount. Warner shareholders are scheduled to vote on the Netflix proposal on March 20.
The announcement from Netflix effectively pauses one of the highest-profile bidding contests in the media industry, a race in which both streaming companies had aggressively pursued Warner’s studio assets and franchises.
Other notable aftermarket moves
Block Inc (NYSE:XYZ) saw shares surge more than 20% in after-hours trading after the payments and fintech firm said it will reduce its workforce by around 40%. The stock move came even as the company reported middling quarterly results, with the announcement of the cuts clearly dominating investor reaction.
CoreWeave, a cloud computing company, fell about 10% after reporting a larger-than-expected loss and outlining plans for heavier capital expenditures on cloud infrastructure. Investors reacted negatively to both the earnings miss and the prospect of additional spending in the near term.
What this means for markets
The evening’s trading highlighted a mix of forces: strong corporate earnings can be offset by investor concern over capital-allocation decisions, competitive dynamics, and near-term profit-taking. The sessions also showed how individual corporate developments - from M&A bidding outcomes to workforce reductions - can create sharp divergences between specific stocks and broader indexes.
Market participants will likely watch for further commentary from major technology and chip companies about capital returns and competitive positioning, and for any follow-up developments in the Warner bidding process and scheduled shareholder vote.