Nasdaq Futures Slip as Sandisk, Western Digital Disappoint
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- Sandisk and Western Digital shares fell sharply in premarket trading after both data-storage companies posted strong growth that fell short of lofty investor expectations, reigniting anxiety around the AI trade.
- Nasdaq-100 futures slipped as the selloff in AI-linked stocks spread beyond the storage names, while Dow contracts edged higher following the index's record close on Wednesday.
- SpaceX faces potential volatility as a post-IPO lockup on more than 900 million shares held by employees and early investors expires today, allowing those shares to be sold.
- Oil prices edged higher as investors awaited updates from the Middle East, where Iran and Oman on Wednesday were finalizing a draft agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
- Iran and Oman negotiators moved toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit corridor, though no deal had been announced as of the market open.
Why it matters: Storage-chip results are functioning as a proxy for the broader AI-infrastructure thesis — when Sandisk and Western Digital miss expectations despite strong growth, the entire AI-linked tech complex feels the pressure. With SpaceX's 900-million-share lockup expiring and Strait of Hormuz negotiations unresolved, traders face a day with three independent volatility catalysts hitting different pockets of the market simultaneously.
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