AT&T shares slipped 3% pre‑market after a report surfaced that SpaceX is negotiating with cellular infrastructure firms to launch a nationwide wireless carrier. The news hit the incumbents hard, sending Verizon and T‑Mobile down 3.2% as well.
SpaceX shares climbed 2.2% on the same day, buoyed by the optimism around its potential carrier venture. Tower operators, however, profited from the fallout – Crown Castle jumped 8.5% and American Tower gained 5.6%, reflecting investors’ shift toward infrastructure assets.
The AI sector reels from a dual shock: CoreWeave’s debt‑laden balance sheet and escalating financing costs weigh on its shares, while Meta’s first cash outflow in over a decade and an 8% slide in its stock have pulled the Nasdaq down nearly 3%.
Futures mirror the gloom – Dow E‑minis fell 308 points (0.58%), S&P 500 E‑minis slid 15.5 points (0.2%), and Nasdaq 100 E‑minis dipped 0.75 points. Brent crude remains near a five‑month high, feeding inflation worries as the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting looms.
The earnings calendar is the main focus; American Express and SLB are scheduled to report later today. Analysts now project the S&P 500’s Q3 profit growth at 32.3%, up from 30.7% in the prior estimate, signaling a modest lift in corporate earnings.
Looking ahead, traders eye the next earnings releases and the Fed’s meeting next week for clues on the direction of risk appetite. Market sentiment remains cautious as investors weigh the lingering AI valuation concerns against the resilience of infrastructure stocks.