US markets today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures indicate negative open amid global tech sell-off cues

The Dow Jones futures were trading 0.66% lower at 52,448 points ahead of the US stock market opening bell on Friday, July 17, indicating a nearly 100-point gap-down opening due to the sell-off cues among the global market investors.

While the S&P 500 index futures were down 0.92% at 7,508 points, indicating a muted opening on Friday’s trading session, compared to the previous Wall Street close, as per Investing.com data.

The Nasdaq 100 futures were trading 1.88% lower at 28,671 points ahead of the trading session on Friday, indicating around a 350-point lower opening when compared to the previous stock market close data.

Key focus of investors will also remain on economic data releases and the global crude oil prices, as the Brent crude oil prices surged past $86 per barrel (bbl) on Friday due to the escalation between the United States and Iran.

Key things to watch before US market opens

US market recap

All three of the benchmark stock indices on Wall Street ended with losses after Thursday’s trading session as investors focused on the selloff cues in artificial intelligence (AI) and technology stocks, against the backdrop of economic data and escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

Exchange data showed that the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.20% lower at 52,552.97 points after Thursday’s trading session on the US market, compared to 52,658.64 points at the previous stock market close.

While the S&P 500 index closed 0.51% lower at 7,533.77 points, compared with 7,572.40 points at the previous Wall Street close, according to MarketWatch data.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index ended 1.62% lower at 29,025.77 points after the trading session on July 16, compared to 29,502.60 points at the previous US stock market close, as per the exchange data.

US stocks to watch on July 17

HDFC Bank ADR and ICICI Bank ADR shares are set to be in focus of US investors ahead of their corporate earnings.

Apart from chipmaking stocks, technology stocks will also remain in focus on July 17, against the backdrop of massive selling pressure from Asian market investors.

Global markets today

Market cues from Asia and Europe showed that on Friday, July 17, the equity benchmark indices were witnessing massive selling pressure from investors against the backdrop of investors focusing on the technology sector correction and rising geopolitical risks.

Although chipmaking stocks like TSMC announced healthy Q2 results, the aggressive allocation to the capital expenditure (capex) guidance for the management was impacting the sentiment and anxiety of an already cautious investor base.

Global market investors have been concerned about the execution and the sustainability of this AI and chipmaking push, which, along with the pressure from energy prices and geopolitical risk, weighs down the equity market sentiment.

MarketWatch data showed that Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 4.3%, Hong Kong’s Hang-Seng lost 1.7%, China’s Shanghai Composite lost 3%, South Korea’s KOSPI crashed 6.3%, and Singapore’s FTSE ended 0.5% after Friday’s trading session.

In Europe, major indices like the FTSE 100, DAX, and CAC 40 were all trading lower during Friday’s market.

Economic data in focus

After the US CPI inflation data and PPI index data released this week, investors are now awaiting the release of import prices data and the key industrial production data for June 2026, set to be released on Friday, July 17.

Investors were also analysing the better-than-expected data release from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which showed lower energy prices, easing retail and wholesale inflation, as focus now shifts to whether or not the US Federal Reserve will cut the benchmark interest rates in the upcoming meeting.