Futures Slip as AI Jitters and Walmart’s Results Take the Spotlight

CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and Reuters contributed to this report.

US stock futures drifted lower Thursday as traders paused to wrestle with fresh worries about artificial intelligence and to wait for a big retail bellwether’s report. At 05:03 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down about 0.25%, S&P 500 futures slid 0.24%, and Nasdaq Composite futures lost roughly 0.3% – enough to snap a three-day run for the broad market.

All eyes were on Walmart, which reports before the bell and is being watched as a blunt instrument for measuring US consumer demand. Wall Street is penciling in about $0.73 in EPS and roughly $190.4 billion in revenue for the quarter. New CEO John Furner has taken the reins this month, and investors want to hear how the company plans to marry its massive store footprint to bigger online and AI-driven businesses.

Big tech came off its recent bounce. Heavyweights such as Apple, Nvidia and Meta Platforms were trading softer in premarket action after posting gains the previous day. The sector’s volatility has been driven by a simple headache: high-priced AI bets need to start paying off in revenue and profits, and for some investors that evidence still feels thin.

Earnings news elsewhere added spice. DoorDash jumped about 12% after forecasting stronger-than-expected gross order value for Q1. eBay shot up 7.8% after a bullish revenue forecast and news it is buying Depop from Etsy (Etsy rallied roughly 14%). On the flip side, Carvana plunged about 16.5% after missing profit expectations and flagging higher costs.

Macro watchers also had fresh Fed color to digest. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting showed officials were mostly comfortable holding rates steady, though a handful said hikes could return if inflation revives. The central bank, Federal Reserve, still has a split on the direction forward – something Fed chair Jerome Powell will weigh alongside speeches from officials like Austan Goolsbee and Michelle Bowman, who were scheduled to speak later in the day. Weekly jobless claims are due, too, ahead of Friday’s PCE inflation print – the number the Fed watches most closely.

Energy names were a rare bright spot as oil ticked up on rising geopolitical tensions tied to US-Iran dynamics. Major producers such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron were slightly higher, and Occidental Petroleum jumped after beating quarterly profit estimates.

On the retail front, analysts say Walmart will give more than a holiday recap – investors want management’s roadmap. “Everybody likes to get a litmus test on how the consumer acted in the quarter and how they are acting quarter to date,” said Kate McShane, underscoring that Walmart’s tone could ripple through the sector ahead of reports from other big retailers.

Bottom line: the tape hit the pause button. Traders are juggling AI hype versus profits and waiting to see if Walmart’s numbers and guidance give them confidence about consumer resilience. If not, tonight’s modest pullback could widen into something more meaningful. If yes, those futures falls might get bought back quickly.