U.S. stock futures held steady on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 tracked toward their strongest weekly showings since early August.
The major averages gained ground despite a rocky session on Thursday that followed the resignation of Nvidia founder Jensen Huang as chief executive officer. The Nasdaq gained 3.2% for the week, the S&P 500 rose 2.9%, and the Dow advanced nearly 2% heading into the final session.
In premarket trading on Friday, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%, S&P 500 contracts gained 0.3%, and Nasdaq-100 contracts edged up 0.1%. Westpac analyst Ryan Wells noted in a message that tentative diplomatic progress between the U.S. and Iran helped restore a more positive tone, helping investors shrug off the prior week’s market sell-off.
Following Jensen Huang’s departure in the wake of discoveries regarding several extramarital relationships, which included a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy, Nvidia shares plummeted as much as 14% on Thursday prior to finishing the session down 4.3%. The stock recovered slightly in premarket trading on Friday, rising about 2%.
Nvidia appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress to lead the company as interim CEO.
Wholesale price data released Friday added focus to inflation readings, with the October producer price index due as a gauge of wholesale inflation, where economists forecast the headline figure to increase 0.4% month over month and 6.6% year over year according to CNBC.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices barely moved on Friday, as West Texas Intermediate crude futures held above $88 a barrel and Brent crude futures stayed above $96, providing relief after a spike sparked Thursday’s bond sell-off following a Truth Social post in which President Donald Trump wrote that a deal with Iran was unnecessary.
We don’t need a deal with Iran.
President Donald Trump
Global equity markets showed mixed results, with European markets mixed in early trading and Asian equities rising Tuesday following presidential comments on the Iran war.
| Company | Ticker | Premarket Change | Reported Earnings & Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems | NASDAQ: CSCO | -1.72% | $1.40 EPS on $18.52 billion revenue |
| Applied Materials | NASDAQ: AMAT | +0.14% | $4.16 EPS on $10.41 billion revenue |
| Cerebras Systems | NASDAQ: CBRS | +17.70% | -$0.67 EPS on $210.80 million revenue |
| Nu Holdings | NYSE: NU | +3.51% | $0.22 EPS on $5.82 billion revenue |
After the closing bell on Thursday, Applied Materials posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $4.16 per share on revenue of $10.41 billion, while Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings pointed out that AMAT sustains a negative price trend across short, medium, and long terms alongside a high quality score.
Cerebras Systems posted third-quarter 2026 results falling short of expectations after Thursday’s closing bell, reporting an EPS of -$0.67 on revenue of $210.80 million, while Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CBRS maintains a negative price trend across short, medium, and long terms.
Nu Holdings delivered a third-quarter 2026 performance on Thursday after the market close that yielded mixed comparisons to forecasts, logging an EPS of $0.22 on revenue of $5.82 billion, with Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings displaying a negative price trend across short, medium, and long terms alongside a strong growth score.
“Wall Street's verdict is still out” said global equity analyst Alex Sagal.ut after the election, arguing that artificial intelligence demand remains durable but that regulatory and execution risks support a preference for high-quality equities.
Earlier coverage: Nvidia Shares Slide as CEO Controversy and Inflation Hit Markets
