Nasdaq 100 Futures Fall 1.26% as Concerns Mount Over AI Investment Financing
Key Facts
Nasdaq 100 E-mini futures fell 1.26% in early trading on October 15, 2026, as selling in artificial intelligence-related stocks continued, according to Reuters. Futures were down 380.25 points at 04:04 a.m. Eastern time, in the trading snapshot cited by the agency before it published its morning report. Reuters linked the selloff to concerns that higher interest rates would make it harder for companies to finance AI investments. The decline in futures followed a losing session on Wall Street on October 14, when the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.9%, according to the Guardian. Losses that session also included the S&P 500, which declined 1.1%.
The trading followed U.S. data showing annual consumer price inflation accelerated in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics release issued on October 14, before Reuters' report on the decline in futures. The headline consumer price index rose 3.7% year on year in September, compared with a 3.4% increase in August, according to the release. In U.S. premarket trading on October 15, CoreWeave shares fell 4.5%, according to Reuters' morning report. The decline followed a 15% drop in the company's shares during the October 14 session, extending their losses into premarket trading the following day. Reuters described CoreWeave as a loss-making company owing about $50 billion, citing London Stock Exchange Group data.
In credit markets, credit default swap spreads for companies linked to AI investments widened on October 15, according to a later Reuters trading update. CoreWeave's spreads exceeded 1,100 basis points, the agency said, as the company's shares came under pressure during the selloff. The movement in credit default swap spreads also included Oracle, whose spreads approached 300 basis points in the trading covered by the same update. Against the backdrop of debt concerns, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang told reporters at an event in Stockholm that "CoreWeave's financial strength is improving every day." Huang added that he saw no need for Nvidia to provide a financial backstop for the company, according to Reuters.
The selloff spread to South Korean memory stocks on October 15, according to the Guardian's coverage of the decline in technology markets and concerns surrounding AI debt. SK Hynix shares fell about 11%, among the moves the newspaper cited as pressure spread to Asian companies in the memory sector. Samsung Electronics shares fell 9.5% the same day, joining losses at its Korean rival during the selloff in the sector. In the United States, Reuters reported in a later update during the day that chipmakers had lost nearly $2 trillion in market value. The period covered by the agency's estimate ran from the previous week through October 15, while the Korean declines occurred during that day's trading.
Against the backdrop of these market pressures, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Chief Executive C.C. Wei commented on the AI business during the company's earnings call on October 15. Wei said on the call that "the AI market remains very strong," according to the official transcript of his remarks published by the company. During the same call, the chief executive discussed the company's business planning for the coming year, stressing that it was taking a cautious approach to its plans heading into 2027. He said: "We are cautious in our business planning heading into 2027," according to the official transcript published for the company's call on the day of the news. His remarks thus combined an affirmation of continued strength in the AI market with caution in planning the company's business for the coming year, as financing concerns weighed on stocks.
On U.S. monetary policy, the market was pricing in a 27% probability that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in October, according to the morning trading snapshot cited by Reuters on October 15. The agency cited CME Group's FedWatch tool for that implied probability in its report on the decline in futures and concerns over financing AI investments. The Federal Reserve holds its next meeting on October 27 and 28, according to the official Federal Open Market Committee meeting calendar published on the central bank's website. After the October meeting, the calendar includes another Federal Open Market Committee meeting on December 8 and 9, according to the dates announced by the U.S. central bank. The December meeting is accompanied by the release of the Summary of Economic Projections, according to the notation attached to that date in the Federal Reserve's official calendar.